Avengers Endgame - Alternative ending
by NicoRobin57
Summary: This story is an alternative ending for the movie Avengers Endgame since I didn't like it that Marvel killed my favorite character. So I decided to correct those two deaths, and it became longer than I expected it to be.
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this story because I didn't like the movie. Don't get me wrong, there are many good scenes in it and it is really good, but they killed my favorite character and that's not okay for me. Every time, I watched the movie, I was crying, so I wrote a different ending and I want to share it with you. So this is a story for everyone, who loves Tony and Natasha and can't accept what Marvel did to them.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

It was the hardest return to his beloved family he ever had. It was everything he had wished for, for the last five years. All he wanted to do was to pull them in his arms and never let go. But the price he had paid for getting them nearly crushed him. Natasha's blood was on his hands. She was dead because she had saved him. She died to give him his family back. How should he explain to them what happened? How should he tell his kids that their aunt wasn't coming back? What would Laura say when he would tell her about Natasha's sacrifice? Would she be angry that he didn't stop her? And what was about his time as a killer? Could she ever forgive him for what he did while they were gone?

"Dad!"

Clint looked up and saw his little girl running towards him, followed by her big brother. Tears fell down his cheeks, while his bow landed on the ground. He couldn't hold it anymore. This was his family! They were back! His two oldest pulled him in for a group hug, and Clint held them close. He kissed their heads several times and took in their unique scent. There was no way he would allow anyone ever again to take them away from him.

"Clint."

Laura stood behind her children with little Nate walking by her side. Gently, Clint pushed his children aside to welcome his beautiful wife. He gave her a soft kiss before he pulled her into a tight hug. More tears were spilling from his eyes, and he couldn't stop them.

"Baby, what happened? One moment you were practicing with Lila, and then suddenly you were gone. And when I call you, you tell me that you are in New York. I don't understand."

"Laura, I… I don't know how…"

He couldn't say it. How should he tell them that they had been gone for five years? Would they believe him? They hadn't felt the snap. They didn't even age through the years – unlike him.

"Clint?" asked Laura confused. She knew her husband for years, but she had never seen him like this. He seemed… broken. "Cooper, help me to get your father inside the house. Lila, take care of Nate."

Immediately, the two kids went into action. Lila took her little brother by the hand, while Cooper helped his mother. He threw one arm of his father over his shoulder, and Laura took the other one. Together they brought the sobbing archer inside the living room. They laid him on the couch, gave him a pillow and a blanket, but he refused to let go of Laura's hand. Laura sent her children out to play, while she stayed with her husband until he fell asleep.

* * *

Clint's dreams were filled with Natasha's death. Over and over again, he saw their fight. Every time, he tried to run faster, to be quicker than his best friend. He should be the one, who should lose this battle. But every time she was the one, who caught him and saved him from the fall. Clint wanted to pull her up, wanted to grab her, but her hand slipped through his fingers. Tears were running down his face, while he reached out for her and yelled her name.

"NAT!"

Panting, the archer woke up. His cheeks were wet from fresh tears, and his heart was racing as if their fight had just happened. The memory hurt, and he didn't know how to make it stop.

"Clint, look at me! You're home!"

Laura appeared beside him and cupped his face with her hands. She wiped away his tears and leaned her temple against his'.

"You're home, baby. Breathe."

Clint calmed himself, but he couldn't stop the tears. He was home with his family. This was everything he had wished for, but Natasha would never return to them. One part of his family was gone forever.

"Has something happened to Nat? You were yelling her name," Laura said.

"She…," he tried to explain, but his voice sounded hoarse.

"Is she hurt? Is this the reason why you left us?"

Clint shook his head. He had to tell her everything. Maybe he should start at the beginning when they disappeared in front of him. Maybe this would make it easier to talk about Natasha. Carefully, he took Laura's hands in his' and told her everything about what she had missed.

* * *

"…So, Nat and I, we teamed up to get the soul stone from a planet called Vormir. It sounded easy. Get the stone and bring it back to our timeline… What we didn't know was… that there was a price to pay… You have to lose someone you love… A soul… for a soul."

Clint's voice broke and fresh tears ran down his cheeks. He heard how Laura took a deep breath as she realized what he just told her.

"Nat… she is…"

Now it was Laura's voice, which broke when she tried to say the words her husband couldn't get over himself. Even the imagination was already too much.

"You want to tell me that… she killed herself?"

Clint nodded and closed his eyes in pain. Suddenly, he got a punch to the chest. Then another and another one. Laura, who was finally sobbing herself, hit her husband with her fists.

"Why didn't you stop her?!"

"I tried. We fought, and I had already jumped in the abyss, but… this stubborn woman. She followed me, connected me to her hook and saved my life. I couldn't hold her, and she fell."

Laura's punches got weaker until she hugged Clint, who hadn't stopped her from hurting him. It was nothing against the pain inside his heart. They heard another sob and immediately, their heads turned to the stairs. Cooper and Lila sat there. The big brother had his arm around his crying sister, while silent tears ran down his cheeks.

"How much did you hear?" asked Clint.

The look in his son's eyes told him everything he needed know. They had heard the whole conversation. They knew that their aunt would never come back to them.

* * *

**Author note: I know that the first chapter isn't long, but I promise that the next chapters will be longer. I will try to upload two chapters every week. Until the next time :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the nice reviews, and thank you to those who have favorited/follow this story. Like you, I didn't like it that Tony got a funeral, but Nat never got a proper funeral. She was there since Iron Man 2 and she was one of the original Avengers. She deserves better than this.**

**As promised, this chapter is longer than the first, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts about it :)**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

A month later, the world was sort of back to normal. Laura went to work, Clint worked in the house, the children visited their schools, everyone was adapting to that they had missed five years, while their loved ones had moved on and had grown older.

The Barton's tried to keep it together as well, especially for Nate, who didn't understand everything yet. But since they knew what their rescue had cost, it wasn't the same as before. Lila had turned quiet and spent most of her time in the barn or shooting some arrows. Laura wore a smile every day for her children, but when they were in bed, she couldn't hide her grief.

Since they had no body to bury, Clint made a stone grave for his best friend. His two oldest helped him with the stones, while Nate brought them some flowers. Every evening before he went to bed, the archer walked to the grave and talked to his best friend. He would do anything to talk to her one last time.

* * *

"Dad?"

Clint was sitting with Nate on the couch and read a book with him when Lila called him from the outside.

"Yes, honey?"

"You have a visitor."

"Tell him to come in."

"I don't think that's a good idea. He would break our front door."

Clint and Laura exchanged a confused look. The visitor would break the door? The archer gave his son the book and a kiss on the head before he went outside to meet the mysterious visitor. As soon as he got outside, he understood what his daughter meant. A big green guy was standing in front of him. The new Bruce. Or was it the nice Hulk?

"Bruce, what are you doing here?"

"I…," the big guy started but interrupted himself when he looked at Lila. "Can we talk somewhere… in private?"

"I live here!" Lila protested. "I can walk and go wherever I want to, and no one…!"

"Lila, honey. Would you please give us a minute?"

"No, I was here first. You want some privacy? Take a walk."

"Watch your tone, young lady. I don't like it."

"Well, I don't like some things too. Looks like we both don't get what we want."

Clint wanted to say something, but his stubborn daughter just put the earphones over her ears, started the music and ignored both men.

"She is right, Clint. It's her home and I'm the guest. Let's take a walk?"

"Sure."

* * *

They walked in silence. Clint saw the Quinjet standing on the meadow. How was it possible that he didn't hear it landing?

"How are you?"

Obviously, both men didn't know what to say, so Bruce started by doing some conversation.

"Good. And you?"

"Good."

Again, they returned to silence. They stopped at the Quinjet when Clint couldn't take it anymore. Since Natasha's death, he was getting annoyed about small things very quickly. Like people wasting his time.

"Listen, you came here to me. So, say what you want to say and then please leave me alone. My family is having a hard time after everything that happened, and I don't want to…"

"I miss her."

Clint froze. He didn't need to ask who Bruce was talking about. The problem was that he wasn't ready to talk about her. Not even to a friend.

"You came all this way just to tell me that? You could have called."

"It's not just… listen. For a month, I'm trying to get peace with myself about the deaths of Nat and Tony. But… I can't. They died to undo Thanos's snap and to protect us. But I don't want to accept that."

Sighing, Clint rubbed his face. He really didn't want that kind of conversation. Hell, he wasn't over Natasha's death himself. How was he supposed to help Bruce with his grief when he went every evening to her grave because he couldn't let go?

"And what do you expect from me, Bruce? There is nothing we can do. Accept it."

"I can't. Look at what we've done to get the stones. We…"

"I think you should leave, Bruce," Clint interrupted him rudely.

"Please, just listen to me…"

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm trying to find my peace with it, and you should too."

"I wanna bring them back!" Bruce shouted angrily.

The archer watched his friend closely, while he waited for the joke. This had to be a joke, right? No one could bring back someone from death. It was impossible.

"Alright Bruce, I think you should fly home and make an appointment with a doctor. Maybe he can help you."

"Think about it…"

"You talk about bringing back the dead."

"I'm sure we could do it. A few months ago, you would have laughed about everyone who would have suggested time travel. You would have sent this person to a doctor. But look at what we have done! We found a way to travel back in time and finished our job."

"And you compare time travel with bringing back the dead?"

Now it was Bruce, who had to rub his face in frustration. Why couldn't his friend understand how important this was to him? He had lost two good friends – well, one he even had some romantic feelings for – and wished them back.

"You can't tell me that you don't miss her."

"Of course, I miss her!" Clint shouted in anger. "I miss her every minute I'm breathing! I'm alive because of her! I would do anything to get her back, but that's impossible, Bruce! She is dead! Get over it!"

Clint turned around without waiting for an answer and left his friend at the Quinjet. He wouldn't talk about this anymore. It was time for him to move on and to look forward.

* * *

This evening, Clint didn't go to Natasha's grave. Instead, he sat down on the porch and thought about his best friend. He tried to remember her smile, her red hair, and her rare hugs, which she had mostly reserved for him. The feeling that everything would be alright when she held him. Her smell, which always reminded him of gunpowder and her green eyes. It had been her eyes, which had changed his mind all those years ago when he was supposed to kill her – and that she was an amazing fighter and clever. He had been the only one, who had seen the lonely woman, who had wanted to be free. So, he had saved her from her miserable life and had brought her to his family. He closed his eyes when he remembered the first time he had brought Natasha home:

"_Don't worry. You're safe here," Clint assured the redhead and opened the front door of his house._

_Natasha hesitated. Could she trust him? He had spared her life and had brought her to SHIELD, but what if she was walking into a trap now? Finally, she took a step forward and walked inside the living room._

"_Honey? I'm home."_

"_Daddy!"_

_A little boy came out of the kitchen and threw himself in his father's arms. Clint put the toddler on his hip and kissed his little face until the kid was giggling._

"_Cooper, this is Natasha Romanoff. Romanoff, this is my son Cooper."_

"_Hi," the boy said shyly._

_Natasha watched the little human from the distance, unsure of what to do. She was a killer. She wasn't good with children. Should she run?_

"_Honey? Oh, you brought a visitor."_

_A young woman appeared in the living room with a friendly smile on her face._

"_Laura, Natasha Romanoff. Romanoff, Laura."_

"_Nice to meet you."_

_Laura reached out her hand to shake Natasha's. The spy took a step backward, then she ran. This wasn't her. She couldn't handle a happy family or children. Clint cursed, gave Cooper to his wife and quickly followed the redhead outside._

"_ROMANOFF!"_

_She didn't stop until he grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop. Immediately, she fought against his grip and threw him on the ground. But Clint was a SHIELD agent. He knew how to fight an opponent, and this woman was no different. The archer took a punch to his ribs and one scratched his jaw before he was able to put his arms around her to hold her in place with her back against his chest._

"_Let me go, Barton!"_

"_Breathe."_

"_I can't do this! I'm not…!"_

"_Breathe," Clint interrupted her calm but firmly._

_Natasha dug her fingernails in his arm, but the agent didn't let go off her. He understood that she needed this to steady herself. She had panicked over meeting his family, although she would never admit it. The Black Widow was no one who panicked. Her breathing became calmer, but her body was still on high alert._

"_You are safe here."_

"_Why did you bring me here?! Why aren't we with this boss of yours? What was his name? Fer… Far…"_

"_Fury. His name is Fury. And we are here because I told him that this would be the easiest way for you to get used to your new situation."_

"_By meeting your family?! I'm not good with families!"_

"_Romanoff, breathe. You need time to get used to everything. It's been a few months since you are with us. I will help you, but you need to relax first."_

"_How are you guys doing?"_

_Laura appeared behind them. She saw Natasha's fingernails in Clint's arm and she was also able to read the body language of the mysterious woman. Slowly, she walked in front of the spy and went on her knees._

"_You can trust Clint. He is a good man."_

"_I trust no one," Natasha responded through gritted teeth._

_Filled with sadness for the poor woman in front of her, Laura gently took one of Nat's hands in hers and stroked it softly._

"_Everyone needs someone he can rely on. This might be family or a friend. Someone you can tell everything that's bothering you."_

_Confused, Natasha concentrated on Laura. This was the first time someone was nice to her – except for Clint of course. Laura wasn't trying to trick her. She was a good person and wanted people to feel safe around her. A relieved sigh escaped Clint's lips when Natasha pulled her nails out of his arm. He was proud of his wife. She didn't know that the redhead was a trained killer. Laura only saw a desperate woman, who needed comfort and a friend._

* * *

"Honey?"

Laura sat down beside her husband and wiped away a single tear that had escaped from under his closed lids.

"Do you wanna talk about today?"

"You mean our daughter, who starts to…"

"I talk about Bruce's visit," she interrupted him quickly.

"Please don't," he whispered.

"You need to talk about it, Clint. I want to talk about it. She was my friend, too."

Clint pulled Laura in for a hug and gave her a kiss on her temple.

"I know. I'm sorry that I couldn't…"

"Stop apologizing. It won't bring her back to us."

Silence fell over the married couple, while they stayed clinging to each other. Their children were already in their bed – or at least stayed quiet.

"Bruce wants to bring her back."

Laura stiffened at his words. Apparently, she wasn't sure if he was making a terrible joke or was serious. Her voice was calm, but he heard the tremble when she asked: "He wants to do what?"

"He believes since we were able to time travel that we could bring back the dead as well."

"And he wants to revive Nat?"

"And Tony."

"What did you say?"

"I told him to leave."

"You told him… you can't be serious! Tell me your joking!"

Clint was surprised by the reaction of his wife. She should know how crazy this idea was.

"Why do you ask me that, Laura?"

"Bruce gives you a chance to rescue Nat, and you say no?!"

"She is dead."

"What could go wrong? It's not like she could die again, Clint."

Confused, he opened his mouth, but no word came out of it. Of course, she couldn't die again, but could he survive the thought? Bruce gave him hope that he could get his best friend back. But what if it wouldn't work?

"Tell me, you don't want her back," Laura demanded. "Tell me, you don't miss her, and I will never talk about it."

"Don't be stupid. You know how I feel about Nat. I would do anything…"

"Then go! This is our chance to get her back!"

"Do you really believe that it is possible to bring back the dead?"

"You traveled through time to bring back half of the universe. I think you guys can do anything if you really want it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the nice reviews. They are really appreciated :)  
**

**I hope you enjoy this new chapter. I used a few other Marvel characters for this story, and I hope you like it.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

It felt strange. Never had he thought that he would return to this place. All his instincts told Clint to turn the car around. He shouldn't have listened to Laura. This plan was insane. It was impossible.

`Start the car and return to your family. Don't be stupid.´

But the gate opened in front of him before he could give in to his wish. Sighing the archer started the car and drove to the building with the 'A' on the outside. After the big fight against Thanos, Bruce had repaired a part of the home of the former Avengers. It didn't look the same and it still needed a lot of time to repair all the damages. Clint parked in front of the entrance. He froze when he got out. Two statues marked the entrance and they wore familiar faces. In honor of their fallen friends, Bruce must have built statues of Tony and Natasha, who were now guarding the main entrance. The archer understood that this was Bruce's way to deal with their death, but for him, it was like a punch in the gut. The front door opened, and the green scientist came outside.

"You changed your mind!"

Clint wanted to explain his appearance, but he had no chance. Bruce pulled him into a big, bone-crushing hug, which made it hard to breathe.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You won't regret it."

"I'm already," Clint coughed. "Bruce. Air."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to… sometimes I forget… are you alright?"

The big green guy put his friend back on his own two feet. Quickly, Clint made a quick checkup, but it looked as if all his bones were still in place.

"I'm good."

"I'm so glad that you changed your mind. Together we will be able to bring them back. I can feel it."

"Let me get this straight, Bruce. I'm here because my wife is convinced that we should try it, while I have my doubts."

"I understand you. But I can't stop thinking about it. And I can't put it aside as long as I haven't tried it. If it doesn't work… at least then I have confirmation and can let go of it. Please say you'll help me."

Clint watched his friend closely. Was he giving him the puppy dog eyes? That was even scarier than Bruce and the Hulk living in harmony.

"Stop with the puppy dog eyes. That is something I expect from my children when they don't get what they want."

"I really need your help, Clint. I do anything if you say yes."

"I give you a week and then I'm out of here."

"A week to bring back one. And if it works you give me more time for the second one."

The archer hesitated. He didn't intend to spend that much time with this theory. He had a family at home. Children, who grew older – and started to develop the usually annoyed teen-mode. But he had promised Laura to try everything he could to bring back Natasha. The last time, he had lost five years. Two weeks should be a piece of cake.

"Fine, two weeks."

Bruce grinned wildly and pulled in his friend for another hug until Clint protested again. The big guy maybe had made peace with his wild side, but he still needed to control his power.

"No more hugs, Bruce," Clint said with gritted teeth. "Or I will have to see a hospital at the end of tomorrow."

"You won't regret it."

"Heard that before. How about you tell me about your plan?"

* * *

The inside of the building looked terrible. Obviously, Bruce didn't care about cleaning the house anymore. Clint saw empty pizza boxes, old Chinese food, and half ate giant tacos. Clothes lied on the floor between some mechanics stuff and many notes. Bruce had arranged a wall with his ideas.

"Come in. Make yourself some space."

"Have you ever thought about cleaning this place?"

"I will when this is over. When we have them back, I have enough time to tidy up and to bring the old building back. But for now, all that matters is them. I'll show you my plans."

"Plans? As in plural?"

"Well, I had a few over the last month, and I want to show you them."

Sighing, Clint sat down on the edge of the couch and tried to ignore the strong disgusting smell from the old food and the used clothes.

"Alright, start at the beginning."

"This would be op BBTAN Number 1. For that, I thought about…"

"Wait," Clint interrupted him. "Op BBTAN? What does that mean?"

"It's just a name, Clint. Every operation needs a name."

"And this one stands for…"

"Operation Bring-Back-Tony-and-Natasha."

The archer turned silent, while he watched his friend in disbelief. Was this a joke? He couldn't be serious. Bruce looked a little embarrassed and couldn't look Clint in the eye.

"I know that it's not the best name for an operation, but it's the best I came up with."

"That is ridiculous. Please, never ever say it again."

"If you don't like it, you can suggest a better one."

"I don't want a codename for this, because I don't believe that we will succeed. Can we return to your plan?"

Bruce looked disappointed. Didn't he understand that Clint didn't want to be here with him? He told him more than once that this was insane.

"Look, if you don't want to talk about it then say it, and I leave you alone."

"You promised to give me two weeks."

"Because I thought you would tell me about your plan, we try it out, then we screw up, and I go back to my family and live my life."

"I should have asked someone else for help."

"And who did you have in mind? Thor? He is gone with those Guardians guys. Steve? I'm sure he would be up for it, but I'm also pretty sure that it would kill him in the first five minutes."

"I got it," Bruce interrupted him. "We are alone. But we still have friends we can ask for help."

"You mean that is your plan? To ask for help?"

The big guy turned to his wall and pointed a finger on a sheet. It was full of Bruce's terrible handwriting. Clint couldn't make it out from the distance, but it didn't look as if anyone could read it except for Bruce.

"That was my first idea. Since we are now able to travel through time, I wanted to jump back in time – just for a few months – and bring them to our future."

"But?"

"But then I realized when I take them from the past, they wouldn't be in it anymore. Means, they wouldn't help us with defeating Thanos. So, this was off the table. Then I thought…"

"Wait, wait. What do you mean with they-wouldn't-be-in-it-anymore?"

Clint wasn't a scientist or a good thinker. Things had to be simple for him. He needed a target and a bow, and he knew exactly what to do. But time travel was different and complicated. At least to him. The green guy took a pencil and a sheet and drew a line on it.

"That is our timeline. If we jump back and change something, like taking people out of it, we create a new timeline where they appear a few months later. But for the last few months, they wouldn't be there to do what they had previously done. This could change our future and everything they have done to defeat Thanos."

"Alright, so we wouldn't defeat Thanos, half of the universe would be dead, but we would have our friends back."

"Right."

"Terrible plan."

"Thank you, I noticed that too."

"Now I begin to understand what you mean with plans. Why can't you just tell me about the newest plan?"

"Because I don't want you to think about an alternative. An alternative, I have already thought about and dismissed, because it wouldn't work. Now you know that traveling back in time is a bad idea, and you won't suggest it."

Clint took a deep breath. This conversation would be longer than expected.

* * *

"… so, this was a failure too. Let's talk about my newest plan."

"Finally," Clint sighed.

The archer was close to falling asleep. He had to remind himself to curse Laura for insisting to come here.

"Clint, are you still with me?"

"Can we take a break? I need a drink… Or five."

"There is Coke in the refrigerator, but no alcohol. I need you focused."

"I am focused."

"I doubt it, but I don't want to say anything. Let's get to my plan. It's a two steps plan. First, we go the Bleecker Street in New York to visit Doctor Strange."

"Who?"

"The magician, we had told you about? He opened all those portals during our fight against Thanos."

"I don't know if you remember, but there were a lot of people there I didn't know that day."

"He wears a red cloak."

"Like Superman?"

"He works with magic and has no super strength."

"But he probably could give himself the strength and laser eyes…"

"Are you making fun of me?"

Clint smiled at the green guy. It was way too easy to mock his friend. The only question was: did Bruce have his anger issues under control?

"I do. Relax, big guy. I remember the magician and his red cape."

"It's a cloak."

"Whatever. Why do we need him?"

"Because he will revive our friends."

"Great, does he know about it?"

"Not yet."

This had to be a joke. How could Bruce expect that everyone was as enthusiastic as he was about his plan? Clint couldn't believe that the magician would be too happy about being part of a bringing-back-the-dead-mission. How did Bruce want to explain all of this?

"What do you do, if he says no?"

"He won't."

"But what if he does?"

"He won't."

"Alright, let's pretend he isn't a fan of your plan and think it sucks. He says no to you and slams the door in your face. What do you do next?"

"I'll convince him that this is the right thing to do."

Clint stared at Bruce in disbelief. This big, green guy was supposed to be a genius. An intelligent scientist. But right now he just sounded like a stubborn child, who was convinced that he was right, no matter what others thought.

"I can't wait to see his face when you tell him that."

* * *

"No."

At least, they were inside of the building. Clint took in the big hall with the stairs and the antique vase. He had promised Bruce that he wouldn't say anything to Strange. His friend was afraid that he would say something that would give the magician a reason not to help. Apparently, Clint didn't have to say anything at all.

"Let me explain," Bruce begged.

"I don't need to hear it. You are in grief and that allows you to make stupid decisions. I'm not gonna help you with your delusion."

"They gave their lives to save us."

"Like it was meant to be. This was the only way to defeat Thanos."

"I don't accept that! We have to try!"

"Good luck, Mr. Banner. Or Mr. Hulk? Either way, I'm not gonna help you. Have a nice day."

"Why?! It's not like you are booked out!" Bruce said angry and for a second, he looked like the old Hulk.

"No, but this is nonsense, and I'm not someone, who wastes his time with theories. Goodbye."

Suddenly, Clint heard the familiar Hulk roar, followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. He turned around quickly, but it was already too late. Stephen Strange lied on the floor, with the big guy sitting on top of him and pushing the hands of the doctor down.

"Bruce!" the archer yelled shocked. "Let him go!"

"He tried to get us outside of here with the help of a portal!"

"Because you refuse to leave!" defended Strange himself.

"You are our only chance!"

"But I won't help you!"

"It's either you or I will go back in time and bring them back that way!"

"That's a joke! Bruce, tell the magician that you're joking. You said that plan would change our victory over Thanos. We can't…"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Suddenly, Bruce stumbled back before he sank on his knees. Big tears ran down his cheeks and wet the floor.

"I miss them so much! I want them back!"

Strange threw a look at Clint, who wasn't sure what to do. How do you soothe a crying Hulk? Slowly, he walked closer until he was standing beside the big guy. There was already a puddle on the floor from his tears. If the archer couldn't calm Bruce, they would be all swimming very soon. Awkwardly, he patted the massive arm.

"Breathe, Bruce. You need to calm down."

"I don't know what else to do!" Bruce sobbed. "I want them back, and no one wants to help me! Don't you love them?!"

"You know that I love Nat. And I would… I would do anything to get her back, but… she is dead, Bruce. She died so we could succeed. You said it yourself. You tried to bring her back when you used the stones. But she stayed dead."

"That doesn't mean that I can't try everything in my power."

"Technically," Strange interrupted him, while he stood up and brushed off the dust of him. "You asked for MY help, so you would use MY power."

"You are not helping," Clint said.

Strange shrugged with his shoulders. He wasn't the kind of person, who cared for the feelings of others. His friend Christine always told him to be nicer to people, but he still couldn't do it.

"I understand that you… miss your friends, Mr. Banner. But you have to understand. Bringing back the dead is dark magic and not easy. You can't just snap with your… alright, that was an unfortunate choice of words. Ehm… you can't just blink with your eyes and they are back and happy and you all live in happily ever after. If it would be that easy, everyone would do it."

Clint thought about Strange's words. Everyone knew from many movies and TV shows that it was always a bad idea to bring back the dead. But…

"So basically, you're telling us that you ARE able to bring them back?"

"Of course, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange."

The archer took a deep breath, while he watched the arrogant magician. He reminded him in many ways of Tony. Then he turned to Bruce, whose tears had stopped.

"Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"Smash him. Hard."

Bruce leaned closer to his friend and whispered: "I can't."

"What?"

"I can't smash him."

"Do you want to fucking kidding me? I thought you have the brain from Bruce and the power from Hulk. Use his power to smash this arrogant asshole!"

"I have the power from Hulk, but I don't have his anger anymore. I don't want to hurt people."

"Just a minute ago, you were close to squeezing him to death. And now you tell me you can't hurt anyone?"

"I was angry and wanted to scare him a little bit. I never meant to hurt him."

"Unbelievable."

Strange cleared his throat to turn their attention back to him. He wanted the two friends out of his house as quick as possible.

"Listen, this sounds very interesting, but you are wasting my time. If you could just leave and talk about your issues outside, I'd be…"

"Please help us," Bruce begged. "I do anything."

"Stop crying would be a good start. Or Wong and I will have a pool in the house."

"Please."

Strange's gaze fell on Clint, and he raised an eyebrow, while an arrogant smile appeared on his lips.

"What about you?"

"What is with me?"

"Don't you want to get on your knees and beg me for help?"

"Keep dreaming. I won't kneel before you."

"Not even if I bring your friends back?"

"How about that? Our friends risked their lives to undo the snap from Thanos. Because of them – and of course the other Avengers – you are alive again. I would say, you owe us."

Strange's smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He didn't like it to owe someone anything. But Clint was right. If the Avengers hadn't risked everything to get the stones, he still would be dead. The only question was: was it worth it to use dark magic?

"Alright, arrow man. I will help you to bring your friends back. But remember my words. It won't be easy."


	4. Chapter 4

**I wanted to upload the chapter yesterday, but I didn't make it. Maybe next week it will be better.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Their next stop was the hardest part of the plan. Since Tony's body wasn't lying on a graveyard, they needed to talk to Pepper. They couldn't exhume the body without her permission, especially when the body was on her property.

Strange brought them to Tony's house with a portal. Morgan, the little daughter of the strong Iron Man, was playing in the garden when they appeared.

"MOM!"

Quickly, she ran to the front door where Pepper stood and hid behind her mother. Pepper looked confused when she saw two of her husband's friends.

"Bruce, Clint. Why do I have the feeling that something bad happened?"

"Hello Pepper," Bruce said with a friendly smile. "We are sorry to disturb you."

"To be honest, I didn't expect to see any one of you again since… ehm… you know."

"I think everyone needed to process what happened that day."

"Morgan, go and play inside the house. Mommy has to talk with Daddy's friends."

"Don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere, honey. We are just talking. Now go."

The little girl hesitated. Obviously, she didn't trust the three men. Or maybe she remembered the last time `friends of Daddy´ arrived and that her father paid it with his life. But Pepper gave her daughter a gentle push to the door, then she came down to meet her visitors. They waited until Morgan was gone before Pepper started talking.

"Alright, what is this all about? Don't tell me you just came for a visit."

"We have a plan," Bruce explained.

"They have a plan," Strange corrected him.

"Actually, it was his plan," Clint said and pointed at the green guy.

"I don't care about whose idea it was. Just tell why you are here."

"Well… maybe you want to sit down," Bruce suggested.

"No thanks. I prefer to stand."

"Are you sure? I think it would be safer…"

"Bruce! Talk!"

"We want to revive Tony."

Pepper didn't move. Her gaze was locked on the green face as if she was waiting for him to continue. Or maybe she searched for signs that would indicate that he was joking. When he didn't say more, she turned her head to Clint.

"I think I have a problem with my ears. It sounded as if he said: you want to bring back my husband. From the dead."

"I'm afraid your ears are fine."

"Didn't you tell him that this is insane?"

"I tried. He is not really good at listening."

That was the time when Bruce decided that he should explain. All he needed was Pepper's permission, but he needed to convince her first that this was a good plan.

"Pepper, listen to me. Everything that happened…"

"My husband is dead."

"I know, but…"

"Finally, he can rest. He is in no more pain; he doesn't have to fight anymore…"

"But Morgan would probably love…"

"Leave my daughter out of this! This isn't about her or me! This is about you guys being as crazy as he was! What is it with you guys that you never know when it is time to stop?!"

The big guy bowed his head in shame. He couldn't look Pepper in the eye. How could he make her see that he just wanted to set everything right? Since she got no answer to her outburst, the furious woman left her visitors and stormed inside the house.

"Alright, we've tried it, but she said no," Strange said in a happy mode. "Let's get back to New York."

Bruce sat down on the ground, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. Every time he talked to someone about his plan, he was walking against a wall. Clint had turned him down the first time, Doctor Strange hadn't been a fan of it, and now it was Pepper. How should he prove that his plan could work when no one wanted to help him? Clint put his hand comforting on the big shoulder.

"Listen, Bruce. You can't force her to give us Tony's body. It's her decision since she is his wife. She made her peace with his death, and I think we should do it too."

"I can't. He has a family here. He didn't need to help us back then. He could have said no and lived his perfect life. But because of us, he helped and now he won't see his child growing up."

"No one forced him. He was the one…"

"You lost your family and did horrible things because of it."

"And that is something I will never…"

"It nearly killed you that you would never see your family again. Your wife and your children. Well, his daughter and his wife need him."

Clint turned silent. He still hadn't told Laura about what he had done during the five years. Every time she saw the tattoo on his arm, she raised an eyebrow, but she never asked him. Maybe she could see the pain in his eyes. Clint knew that he had to tell her one day, but it would be in the future.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your emotional moment, gentleman, but I would really like to return to New York. Can we leave?"

Suddenly, Morgan appeared in front of them with a basket. It was filled with lemonade and glasses.

"Mommy said I should bring you something to drink."

"That is really sweet of you, little one," Clint said smiling.

The girl handed him a glass, then she poured the lemonade into it carefully. A few drops landed on his hands and the ground, but the archer didn't mind. He thanked her, and Morgan moved on to Bruce, who got a big glass. The big guy smiled friendly.

"You are sad," Tony's daughter said.

"A plan of mine failed, and that makes me sad."

"Can you bring back my dad?"

Bruce's eyes widened, then he realized who he was talking to. This was Tony's daughter. Of course, she didn't play inside the house when grown-ups tell her. She was as curious like her father.

"I don't know. But I would like to try."

Morgan wanted to give the last glass to Strange, but he declined.

"I don't want lemonade."

"Take the glass, Strange," Clint growled quietly.

"I'm not thirsty."

"It doesn't matter. Take it."

"Why should I…?"

Clint was close to killing the magician. This guy was worse than Tony Stark. If Bruce would force him to stick with this arrogant asshole longer than necessary, he would kill him. At least, it seemed as if Clint's evil eye worked because Strange took the glass and allowed the little girl to fill it with the lemonade. It looked as if he wanted to say something when a few drops landed on his hand, but in the end, he kept silent and swallowed his anger.

"Thank you," he said politely.

"Can I bring you anything else? Are you hungry?"

"Morgan, come back in the house."

Sighing, the little girl obeyed, while she changed places with her mother. Pepper looked as if she wanted to beat someone, but wasn't sure who it would be.

"You should think about getting a punching bag," Clint suggested, then took a sip of his lemonade.

"What do you think where I went?" asked Pepper in return and raised her eyebrows. "Alright, I assume that I can't talk you out of it. I tried that for many years with Tony, and it never worked. And you probably didn't come to me just to tell me about it; which means, you need something from me, and I want to know what it is."

Bruce took a big sip from his glass, while Strange was admiring the landscape, which left Clint to be the one, who got the stare from Pepper.

"Why are you looking at me? It was Bruce's idea."

"I said it before: I don't care who had the plan. But someone is going to talk."

Again, the archer tried to get eye contact with his friend, but Bruce was still sipping on his lemonade. Apparently, he was afraid of Pepper since she already stormed off once. Clint sighed heavily. Why did he have to do the hard part?

"Do you wanna sit down?"

"Skip the take-a-seat-Pepper and talk to me before I have to use my punching bag again."

"We… you know what? I just start again. Like Bruce said he plans to bring back Tony and Nat. And he needs…"

"Wait, Nat? Now you want to revive Tony AND Nat? Have you guys lost your mind?!"

"Well, they both gave their lives to save us. And it's only a try. If nothing happens we return Tony to you and…"

"You return him?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you about. Bruce would like to have your permission to exhume Tony's body, so this magic-using-cloak-wearing-guy uses his wand to do whatever he can do."

"I don't use a wand," Strange corrected him. "I'm not Harry Potter."

Clint ignored the magician and concentrated on Pepper, who was obviously speechless. He saw that she was thinking about their request, and he could only hope that she didn't decide to punch him. Finally, her sad gaze fell on him again.

"Do you promise me that I get his body back and not his ashes?"

"I swear. I will personally return him to you. And if you have the feeling we ruined his body, you have my permission to use me as the punching bag afterward."

"Tempting," Pepper said with tears in her eyes. "Alright, you have my permission, but I won't come with you. I don't want to see his body. Morgan and I, we will wait in the house."

"Thank you," Bruce whispered.

The big guy was still not able to look her in the eye. Pepper wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

"Go. Take him and then leave us. But don't forget your promise."

The three men bowed their head, gave her their empty glasses, and then moved to Tony's grave.

`This better works,´ Clint thought bitterly.

* * *

**Author note: reviews keep authors motivated. So, I would really like to hear your thoughts and opinions about this chapter **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry that it took me so long to upload the new chapter. I was a little bit busy this week. But I wanna thank you guys for the nice reviews. I really love and appreciate them :)**

**In this chapter we will have a little glimpse of a situation in Clint's past. I hope you like it.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

`Regulate your breathing. Concentrate. And…´

The arrow flew through the air and hit right in the middle. Clint sighed heavily. He hated waiting. He wasn't the type of guy, who sat around with a cup of tea in his hands; even when the place invited them to relax. Strange had brought them to a place called Kathmandu – somewhere in India. According to him, here the people learned how to use magic. The magician had taken Tony's coffin with him. He needed to be alone. Clint assumed the guy didn't want them to watch how he would fail. Bruce was talking to the other magicians and was having a great time by the look of his face. The archer was the only one, who was bored because he had nothing to do. His family and closest friends knew that this was deadly to him. Especially Natasha had known about it:

"_Would you please stop, Clint?"_

_They were on a stakeout. SHIELD had sent them to Russia to find an international weapons dealer. It hadn't been hard to find the guy, but they were observing him for days now to plan their attack. Coulson had rented them a small apartment, which was located on the opposite side of the night club, they were watching. Their guy seemed to love this place since he appeared every night and left in the early morning. Clint needed to do something. He couldn't sit and wait and watch in complete silence. So he started throwing knives at a target, which he had hanged on the wall – unnecessary to mention that he always hit the bulls-eye._

"_I'm bored."_

"_If you don't like it, you should talk to Coulson. Maybe next time, he will give you an interesting job."_

"_If I do this, he will probably send me to the Arctic to see penguins."_

"_Possible," Natasha answered with a little smile on her lips._

"_You think that is funny? Let's see how funny you think it is when I tell Coulson to send you there too."_

"_He wouldn't, because he knows that I don't have a problem with observations."_

_Clint growled angrily, then he threw one knife to the window. The weapon bored itself into the wood frame, where it stuck. His goal had been to shock his partner, but Natasha didn't even flinch. Slowly, she pulled the knife out and turned it in her hands._

"_Do you feel better now?"_

"_No, I'm still bored."_

"_Then I have good news for you. Our guy arrived. Let's go."_

_Natasha gave her partner the knife before she left the room. Both of them didn't wear their usual outfits. Since they couldn't get to their target outside, they had to take their chances inside. The archer felt uncomfortable because he couldn't wear his bow. Instead, he wore a black suit and hid his knives inside of it._

_`I look like Coulson,´ Clint thought bitterly._

_Even Natasha didn't look like herself. Since she couldn't hide in the crowd very well because of her red hair, she wore a wig with brown locks. A beautiful blue dress showed a little bit too much skin – in Clint's opinion – but it should allow them to get what they wanted. The weapons dealer looked like a guy, who couldn't resist a beautiful woman. Clint didn't want to know where she hid her weapons, but he had no doubt that she wore some. In fact, the whole woman was a deadly weapon._

* * *

_The night club was filled with young people – some of them obviously weren't old enough to be there – and they could smell alcohol and sweat. The loud music made it almost impossible to talk to each other. Clint and Natasha had entered the club separately. This way, no one was suspicious when they took a round through the crowd. Sadly, it also meant that they weren't able to communicate. Without her famous hair, Clint couldn't identify his partner in the crowd._

"_Hello, handsome. Do you wanna dance?"_

_A young girl, who obviously had a few drinks too much, took his hand and tried to pull him on the dance floor. Quickly, Clint released his hand from her grip._

"_Sorry, but I don't dance," he yelled over the music and turned around._

_But it seemed as if the drunken girl wasn't a person, who took no for an answer. Quicker than he had imagined, she was standing in front of him, pressing her body against his. Her hands wandered over his back, while he tried to push her away._

"_This is a night club. What are you doing here if you don't dance?"_

_There was something in her eyes that made him change his mind. This was a night club, and it would look suspicious when he would decline her offer._

"_I… I'm shy."_

_It was the most stupid apology, and he knew it, but the girl seemed to believe him, and that was all he needed to protect his cover._

"_Oh baby, there is no need to be. I'm really nice."_

_One of her hands slid behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Clint was shocked and pushed her away. He had a wife!_

"_Have you never kissed a girl before?" asked the girl with big eyes._

"_I… why don't we… why don't we start with a little dancing?"_

_Where was Natasha? Had she found their target? Or was she watching him from the distance and laughed about his situation?_

_Clint saw that the drunken girl was still suspicious about his reaction, but she took his hand again and pulled him on the dance floor. Awkwardly, he moved to the music, while she always touched him; either with her hands or her whole body. The archer tried not to think about how furious Laura would be if she would find out about this. Would she believe him that this was necessary to keep his cover?_

_Suddenly he heard a gunshot, followed by the screams of the panicking people. Everyone was running towards the exits, while Clint was looking out for Natasha. Where was she? He pulled out one of his knives, then someone grabbed his arm and pushed the knife in his stomach. Confused, the SHIELD agent looked down at his weapon. How did this happen? Slowly, he lifted his head and met the cold eyes of the young girl. Obviously, she had acted as if she was drunk, and he had fallen for it. How could he be so stupid?_

"_Don't take it personally," his opponent said, while she pulled out the knife. "But this is my job."_

_Before she was able to stab him again, Clint kicked the weapon out of her hand. Playtime was over. She belonged to their enemies, so he could beat her up. At least, that had been his plan. Sadly, the girl wasn't a newbie. She blocked all his attempts and sent him to the ground, followed by a kick on his stab wound. Clint held his breath with gritted teeth, while he waited for the pain to be gone. This girl knew how to use every advantage she had. Again, she aimed for his weak spot, but this time he grabbed her foot and stopped the attack. He wanted to push her backward, then suddenly she was gone. He lost her foot, and then she was out of side. The panicked crowd had taken her with them. Clint would've sighed in relief if the people wouldn't run over him. Quickly, he curled himself to a small ball and protected his wound this way._

"_Clint!"_

_He heard Natasha's voice, but he couldn't answer. There were still people running over him. How much more would come?_

"_Clint!"_

_`She can't see me. Wait until this is over. This has to be over soon. Wait for it. Ignore the pain.´_

"_Clint."_

_Instead of stomping feet, the archer felt two hands, which were gently touching him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Natasha's green eyes. Then he realized that the people had stopped walking over him. His whole body was in pain. This mission would leave more than just a bruise._

"_Can you stand up?"_

"_What about our target?"_

"_He waits for us at the bar. Come on, we need to get out of here."_

_Natasha pulled her partner on his feet, whose answer was a painful groan. Her gaze fell on the ground, where she saw a red puddle._

"_You are hurt."_

_Gently, she searched for the wound before she pressed his hand against it. He needed a doctor._

"_That girl… she looked innocent… but she is… a cold-blooded killer."_

_The redhead looked at him with a rising eyebrow._

"_And here I thought you have learned something from your past."_

"_She is not you."_

"_Sounds like me."_

"_You changed."_

"_Maybe we should talk about this when we are in the air with our target."_

"_Good plan," Clint said, while his partner put his arm around her neck, which would help him to walk to the exit._

"_Do you still prefer action over boredom?"_

"_Shut up, Romanoff."_

"_I just wonder what Laura will say when you return like this."_

"_She will kill us both."_

"_I don't plan on coming with you. I'll stay at SHIELD."_

"_You would leave your partner?"_

"_I don't want to get in the crossfire of a married couple. Especially, when the wife's name is Laura Barton."_

"_I'm hurt."_

"_You get over it."_

* * *

Clint smiled at the memory. Of course, Laura had found a way to get to Natasha as well. As a punishment, she had made the two agents babysit Cooper for a whole weekend. Natasha had been furious, but she didn't have left him with the task – although she didn't have known how to take care of a child.

"What are you thinking about?"

Bruce stood behind the archer. Clint cursed himself for being caught in his memories. He had been a top spy at SHIELD and now he couldn't even hear a heavy green guy, who was approaching him.

"I thought about an old mission with Nat in Russia."

"You succeeded?"

"Most of the time we did. But this one didn't go quite as planned."

"How so?"

"I got injured by a girl, who pretended to be drunk; Nat took out our enemies on her own, and my wife busted both our asses for that."

"Nat knew about your family for a while, right?"

"She was my partner, and I trusted her. Besides, Nat is… was good with keeping secrets."

Bruce acted as if he hadn't noticed Clint's correction. He would do anything possible, so they would be able to talk about their friends in the present time.

"How did you tell your family about what happened?"

"I didn't want to say anything to the kids at first. I was barely able to tell my wife, and she hit me after she heard it. But my two eldest were sitting on the stairs while I talked. Nate is the only one, we told nothing about his aunt. He is too little to understand why she isn't coming back and he probably doesn't remember her anyway. When he gets older, I will tell him about her."

"Or she tells him herself."

Clint grabbed his bow a little tighter. As much as he wished their plan would work, there were still doubts in him. Strange was working on Tony for hours now, and they still haven't heard anything about success. It was possible that Strange gave up a while ago, but didn't want to tell the big guy.

"Yeah, maybe," he finally said before he shot another arrow in the bulls-eye of the target.

* * *

**Author note: I decided to upload just one chapter every week and it will probably be every Monday. So, see you next Monday and have a great weekend :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, my plan with uploading on Monday didn't work. I thought I had more time yesterday, but the day was over too soon (sometimes the days need more hours).**

**This chapter is for everyone, who loves Tony and was devastated by his death. I hope you guys like my version and keep reading. There will be more of Natasha, but at first, I decided to work with Tony.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

The sun was setting down, and still, there was no sign of Strange or a revived Tony. Even Bruce was now sitting on the ground and looked disappointed. Their plan had failed. Strange was an amazing magician, but apparently, he wasn't able to bring back the dead. Clint sat on the wall and stared into the abyss. It was easy. All he had to do was lean forward. One small movement and he would see Natasha again.

`And then she would kill me for doing it. She sacrificed her life, so I would get my family back. Nat would never forgive me if I'd put this on risk.´

"Mr. Banner, Mr. Barton."

Wong appeared with his typical stoic face impression. It was impossible to read anything from it. The green guy didn't even look up.

"Let me guess, it didn't work. You are here to tell us that Mr. Strange is very sorry and that he tried everything in his power, but it is impossible to bring back the dead."

"I'm here because Mr. Strange asked me to bring you to him."

"So he can show us our dead friend? No thanks, I'll pass."

Wong looked at Clint. Obviously, he thought it was the archer's task to motivate his friend. The magician wouldn't tell Bruce what he should do. Clint sighed heavily and jumped from the wall. He didn't know why a part of him felt disappointed when he had never believed that this would work.

`Because deep inside of you, you had hoped you would get your best friend back. You called Bruce crazy, but you wished it would be possible.´

"Come on, Bruce. Let us see the doctor and then we leave this place."

"I don't want to talk to him."

"He tried for hours to bring back our friend – although he warned us about the possibilities. We owe it to him that we at least thank him for trying."

The big guy thought about Clint's words. They did owe him a thank you even although it didn't have worked. Finally, he nodded and wiped over his eyes with his big hand.

"Alright, we thank him and then we return Tony's body to Pepper. He belongs with his family."

* * *

Wong guided the two friends to a room, which was located at the far end of the building. The doors were closed, but they heard music coming through. Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is that music?"

Wong shrugged with his shoulders. He was used to Strange's unique methods and behavior.

"He says, he works the best when he listens to music."

Then he opened the room. Strange was sitting in a chair with closed eyes, while he was listening to the beat. In front of him was an empty table – probably the place where he had put Tony's rotten body. Obviously, Strange had already brought it back to Pepper and spared the two friends the trip. Clint had to admit that the magician wasn't such a bad guy as he had assumed.

"How do you feel?" asked the archer friendly.

"I'm exhausted. I used a lot of magic today. My power will need a day or two to recover. I hope you guys understand how dangerous this has been for me."

"We know it and we are thankful that you at least tried to bring him back. I'm sure that wasn't easy for you."

"Trying?" asked Strange confused and opened his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"And thank you for bringing our friend back to his family. It seems as if I…"

"Barton?"

The voice sounded hoarse as if she hadn't been used in a while and was still so familiar. Clint felt how Bruce stiffened beside him, which gave him hope that he didn't turn crazy. Slowly, the archer turned his head to the right side of the room. There stood – in one of his best black suits as if nothing had happened – Tony Stark! Alive and breathing… and confused.

"I… don't understand."

Clint couldn't speak. He wanted to explain everything to Tony, but he found no words.

"Tony," Bruce cried, then the big guy pulled his friend in for a big hug.

"Tell your friend, he shouldn't squeeze him too hard. I don't think that I can bring him back a second time," Strange said tiredly.

"Bruce."

His voice was nothing more than a whisper. Tony was alive! He should be happy about it, but his mind was still trying to understand what his eyes were seeing. Maybe Strange was an arrogant idiot, nonetheless, he was powerful. In one day, he had brought back a man from the dead! Clint cleared his voice.

"Bruce, let him go."

"I can't," Bruce sobbed, while big tears fell on Tony's suit.

"Tell him to stop crying. I don't clean the floor again."

"Bruce, I mean it. Give Tony some space. You can hug him later."

Carefully and hesitating, the green guy released the poor man, who still didn't know what was going on around him. At least, he realized that Clint was the only person in this room, who would give him an answer to his questions.

"What happened? Where is Pepper?"

The archer went over to his friend and pulled him in for a hug gently. In disbelief, his hands moved over Tony's body. He waited for the moment when he would only feel nothing more than thin air, but it didn't happen. This wasn't a dream.

"Tony, Pepper is at home with Morgan."

"But… how? She was… I mean she was just in front of me… and… and she wore one of my suits… where are we?"

"This place is called Kathmandu. It's where all the magicians come from."

"Strange he… he told me something about… that he brought me back, but… from where?"

Tony looked pale, and his voice sounded still hoarse. Clint guided his friend gently to the table and made him sit down.

"Bruce, can you get Tony a glass of water? I'm pretty sure he must be thirsty."

He had assumed that the big guy would argue with him. Instead, Bruce left the room in search of some water. Strange's music was the only thing that interrupted the silence. Clint wanted to tell him to shut it off, but then he thought that the guy was exhausted. Listening to music was probably his way of relaxing.

"Tony… how do I explain this?"

"Just say it, Clint. Where is Thanos?"

"Thanos is dead. You defeated him with the stones."

"I remember that. And I remember the terrible pain."

"Bruce had been right. The stones are too much for a human being. You died after snapping Thanos and his army away."

Tony's hand moved to his chest, where his heart was. Clint was tempted to do the same. He wanted to know if his friend had a heartbeat. Did Strange turned back the time or was magic keeping Tony's body alive?

"I can feel my heartbeat. If I'm dead, then why am I here? Sitting here; talking to you; touching you."

Desperate, the millionaire grabbed the arm of Clint and dug his fingernails into his flesh.

"I can feel you and I believe you can feel me too."

"I do; even although I still can't believe it."

"How?"

"It was Bruce's idea. He thought that when we can travel through time, we could also bring back the dead. Apparently, he had a few ideas on how to do it – don't ask me about them because I already forgot about them. The one idea that stuck with him, was asking this arrogant magician to help us with his magic."

"I can hear you." Strange's answer sounded bored as if he not really cared about what the Avengers thought about him.

"He can bring back… dead people?"

"Looks like it."

"Does that mean that I owe him?"

"You do," Strange said, and Clint could've sworn he was happy about it. Especially since he was holding his arm up like a winner.

"Didn't we say you do this because you owe him that YOU are alive again?"

Slowly, the arm of the magician went down again.

"IfIthinkabouthowmuchtimeandpowerIhadtousetobringhimback,Iwouldsaythatbeats-everythingIowehim."

Strange's answer wasn't much more than a mumble, but both men understand what he was saying. Clint decided to ignore him. At the same time, Bruce returned with a glass of water. He had stopped crying, although his cheeks were still wet from tears. Carefully, he handed Tony the glass.

"Thank you, Bruce."

"How do you feel?"

"Good… I think. How long do I stay alive, Doc?"

"Right, let's talk about the important stuff."

The music turned down with one hand move from the doctor, and Strange sat upright. Clint noticed that he looked as pale as Tony.

"Do you need some water too?"

"I will need something stronger, but now is not the time. As you can see, I brought your friend back from the dead, and it took me a while. The reason is easy: he died and his soul had already left his body. So, healing the body didn't bring him back. Even putting magic in his remains didn't help. I had to find a way to connect his soul with his body – and of course, I had to find the right soul in this pool of dead souls. Not easy, in case you wondered."

The magician made a dramatic pause as if he wanted to give the three men the chance to say something. They didn't. Disappointed, Strange sighed, then he continued: "So, I used a metal object, filled it with magic, and attached it to his body. It's the glowing thing on his chest."

Tony opened his shirt and revealed the object. It was the one with the nanoparticles from his Iron Man suit! It was glowing in his typical bluish light.

"You stole my tech?"

"I USED your tech to bring you back. This is attached to your body. Be careful that you don't lose it. If someone takes it off; you die. If someone destroys it; you die."

"We get it. He needs it to stay alive," Clint interrupted the explanation.

"Amazing," Tony said sarcastically. "Years ago, I got rid of the arc reactor, which kept me alive, and now I need my tech again implanted in my body or I'll die. That's ironic."

"Good, but you can also die when someone cuts your head off or drives a knife in your heart – or a bullet, or a wooden stick."

"Do you call me a vampire?" asked Tony and raised his eyebrows in question.

"Of course not. You can walk in the sun, you can eat garlic and you can walk into a church."

"Will I age?"

"Yes. If you keep this object and if you don't allow anyone to kill you again, then you will die as an old man with your wife."

The millionaire turned to Clint. "I want to see my family."

"We bring you to them."

"Do they know? Does Pepper know what you…?"

"What do you think who gave us your body? We asked her for permission first. We wouldn't have done it without her knowing what we planned. But I have to tell you that she didn't believe that it would work. So, she is waiting for us to return your lifeless body and not her breathing husband."

"You want to tell me that my wife could try to kill me when she sees me?"

"Does she wear any weapons on her? Just in case, she wants to throw a knife or something like that."

"Before I died, she never wore one. But I was gone for a while and I don't know what has changed. By the way, how long was I gone?"

"You died a month ago."

Tony was surprised. "I just missed a month? I was scared it had been years, but… after a month you already found out that you couldn't live without me?"

"Thank Bruce for it. He was the one, who convinced everyone," Clint explained, then a smile appeared on his face. "And don't let it get over your head. I could've lived without your jokes far longer than a month."

The pale man copied the smile of his friend and a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

"That's the reason why I like Bruce more than you, Barton."

"I think I can live with that, Stark."

* * *

**Author note: So, we have Tony back :)**

**I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will be about Tony as well and his return. See you next Monday.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry. I really wanted to upload on Monday, but again there was too much to do.**

**I want to thank gerrylynnr for your reviews. I really appreciate them :)**

**This chapter is about the little Stark family and I hope you like it.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

This time, Wong opened a portal for them to bring Tony, Clint, and Bruce to the little house Pepper and Morgan lived in. Strange needed some time to regain his powers – especially when he was supposed to bring back Natasha as well. Clint didn't mind. It was already hard enough to have Tony around you with his jokes and his ego, and the magician was just as annoying as the millionaire. At least, when they both acted like their usual selves. Right now, Tony was nothing like the guy, who said to the press that he was Iron Man. Clint had the arm of his friend around his neck and helped him to walk to his house, while Tony's gaze wandered over the landscape. He saw Morgan's toys and her tent and remembered how he used to play with his little daughter. Would she look the same? Would she still love him? Or would she think that her daddy was now a stranger? What if she…?

"DADDY!"

All his worries were forgotten. One word, and his world was right again. Tony's feet gave up under him and he sank on his knees while pulling the archer with him as well. Clint steadied his friend, so he wouldn't fall, then Morgan was there and threw herself into the waiting arms of her father. The little girl sobbed loudly, while even her father cried silent tears.

"I'm back, sweetie. Daddy is back."

Their reunion was interrupted by shattering glass. The men turned their heads to the house, where a shocked Pepper sat on her knees with her hands clasped over her mouth. A broken glass lied in front of her; the fluid spilled on the ground.

"Clint, could you…?" asked Tony with a shaken voice, but he didn't need to finish the sentence.

The archer walked to the house and touched the shoulder of Tony's wife gently.

"Pepper? Can you hear me?"

"Tony… he is… impossible."

"Do you remember why Bruce and I came here? Why we wanted Tony's body?"

"No one can bring back the dead. That's an illusion."

Pepper's voice was nothing more than a whisper. Clint wondered if he would look the same when he would see Natasha again.

"Pepper, I need you to listen to me carefully. I know that this is a tough situation, but it is important. Tony is back. He is not an illusion or a product of your imagination. Strange was able to reconnect his soul with his body. There are a few things you need to know about it, but for now, the only thing that is important is that your husband has returned to you; to you and your daughter."

Slowly, the beautiful woman turned her head towards the archer. Tears were running down her cheeks, but her eyes were focused.

"What things do I need to know?"

Of course, Pepper always focused on important subjects. No matter how crazy the situation was, she was always concentrated.

"We don't need to discuss this now. Now, your husband needs you."

"What shall I say? He was dead and now… now he is…"

"I don't think that words are necessary. Just go to him and let him know that he is still loved."

Pepper took Clint's hand and allowed him to pull her back on her feet. She still felt a little shaken. Together they walked to the kneeling Tony, who was still clutching his daughter.

"Tony?"

The millionaire locked eyes with his wife, and immediately she was lost. She fell to her knees, threw her arms around her little family and started to cry. Clint watched the reunion with a heavy heart. It reminded him of his moment when he finally got his family back. He knew how this family felt right now, and it made him miss his own. Bruce nodded with his head to the side, and the two men moved to the house to give their friends some privacy.

"One back, one left," Bruce said smilingly.

"And you think that will be as easy as here? I lost Nat in 2014 on a foreign planet. So, at first, we have to travel through time again. Then, we have to fly to the planet, and then we have to try to get Nat's body back."

"I agree that it sounds difficult. But this time we are not there for the soul stone. We just want our friend back."

"Your word in God's ear."

* * *

Wong vanished after Pepper promised to drive the two men back to the Avengers building later. At first, they were invited to the big dinner she would prepare to celebrate the return of her husband. Bruce and Clint sat in the garden with some lemonade, while Tony took a shower and changed his clothes. Then the millionaire joined his friends.

"What do you guys plan next? Bringing the team back together?" asked Tony and took a sip of his drink.

"Kind of," Bruce answered.

"Means?"

"There is still someone missing."

Tony leaned his head to the side and thought about it. Who was missing? Was the big guy talking about Cap or Thor? Or…?

"You talk about Nat?"

"Of course. We proved that we can bring back the dead. Now we bring back her as well."

"That's insane! She is on another planet at a different time, Bruce!"

"We are the Avengers. Nothing is impossible for us."

"We are not invincible! She and I, we proved that we can die as every other person can."

"I don't care. We bring her back, and then I will never talk about it."

Tony's gaze turned to Clint, who shrugged with his shoulders. He couldn't expect any help from the archer.

"Don't look at me. You know that I would do anything to bring her back. She is my best friend."

"You want to go back? Seriously?"

"If this means that we get her back? Yeah, I will go."

The millionaire leaned back in his chair and looked at the blue sky. Of course, it wasn't as easy as digging up a dead body, but the Avengers were a family. They wouldn't leave someone behind. Especially, since Natasha gave her life to allow her friends to undo the snap.

"Alright, when do we leave?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Clint.

"I want to know when you plan to travel through time again."

"You don't join us."

"I'm an Avenger just like you guys. We do this together."

"Strange just brought you back from the dead. Your family hasn't seen you in a month. You should sit this one out."

"Pepper will understand."

"I don't think so. She will not be thrilled to allow her husband to go on the next suicide mission, which could kill him again."

"I'm careful this time. Besides, I don't have to use the infinity stones again or fight against a big bad titan. I'm fine."

"You need time to regain your power."

"I don't think that you guys will travel after dinner. Means, I have enough time to relax and talk to Pepper."

Clint was shocked. This guy was breathing air again for not much more than an hour and he already wanted to go on the next mission.

"Do you have a death wish?"

"I love my family, but Nat is family too. If you think there is a possibility to get her back, I will help you. I wouldn't be able to rest when I know that we can save her."

"Give up, Clint," Bruce said and smiled. "Have you forgotten that you can't talk him out of anything? He is Tony Stark."

"I will definitely not be there when you tell Pepper."

"That's fine," Tony laughed. "I don't think anyone of you should be in the same room when it happens. So, who else do we bring in? Cap? Thor? The strange talking raccoon?"

"Thor and Rocket are somewhere lost in space," Bruce explained.

"Alright, so we don't have the god on our side. What about Cap? Can we call him?"

Bruce and Clint exchanged a look, which Tony noticed immediately.

"What? Is he lost under the sea?"

"No… Steve is… we could call him, but…"

Bruce didn't know how to explain to his friend what happened to Captain America. That he had decided to move on with his own life and had stayed in the past.

"Spit it out, Bruce. I'm a big boy."

"He isn't able to help us anymore."

"Why? Did he lose his strength? Come on, Bruce. Stop babbling and tell me what happened!"

"He is old," Clint said.

"Of course, he is old. He was born in 1918. Since when…"

"No, I mean he is an old man now. For real."

Tony needed a moment to think about Clint's words. What did his friends try to tell him?

"You mean… he aged? Just like that?"

"When I got the time stone in 2012, I promised to return the stones to the exact moment we took them," Bruce explained. "Since I was hurt, Steve promised to do it. He returned the stones, but when it was time for him to return… nothing happened. Instead, we found an old man sitting on a bench. It was Steve."

"He… he stayed in the past?"

"He told Sam that he tried to do what you have told him once; that he should live his life."

"I did, but when I said this I meant… he should have lived it with us."

"Can you blame him?" asked Clint. "His true love is dead in our time. In the past, he was able to live the life he should have had with her."

Although he felt happy for his friend that he had been reunited with his true love, Tony felt sad about it. The time of the Avengers was officially over.

"Do you know where he is right now?"

"I have his address. If you want to see him, I can bring you to him."

"He shouldn't hear the news from the media. As soon as we have Nat back, I will visit him."

Tony put his lemonade down and stood up.

"Now excuse me, I have to talk to my wife. Maybe you guys could play with Morgan, while we are destroying the furniture. She shouldn't see that."

"And how do you explain the mess to your daughter?"

"A big dog ran through the house and destroyed everything."

Clint shook his head in disbelief. Why did he even ask? This was Tony Stark. Of course, he would have a crazy explanation for his actions. How could Pepper ever fall for this guy?

* * *

**Author note: Since I'm on vacation next week, the next chapter will be uploaded in two weeks. Have a great week :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, my vacation is over and as promised I will upload the next chapter. What do you think? Will Tony convince his wife to let him go once again?**

**And I want to thank everyone, who reads and likes this story. I hope you stay with me until the end :)  
**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Nervously, Tony entered his house. How should he tell Pepper about his plan? How would she react?

`Idiot. You know exactly what she will do. This time she will probably kill you with her own hands. And you would deserve it,´ the millionaire thought.

"Dad? Do you want something to eat? Mommy is working on it, but I could make you a sandwich if you want to."

His beautiful little daughter appeared in front of him with a spatula in her hand. Tony couldn't suppress a smile. He had to remember the first time Morgan tried to make breakfast for Pepper and him. It had been a disaster, but both adults had praised the food. Gently, the father cupped the cheek of the girl.

"That is really sweet of you, honey, but I can wait. Why don't you go outside and show my friends your tent? I'm sure that they would like to see it."

"But what about dinner? I promised Mommy to help her."

"How about I will help her instead?"

The little girl turned her head aside as if she had to think about his offer. Finally, she handed him the spatula.

"Alright, but be careful. You can't let it get burned."

"I will do my best."

Tony waited until his daughter was outside before he moved to the kitchen. Maybe he should offer his help? Or should he organize some flowers? In the kitchen, Pepper was moving from one side to the other, and even from the distance, Tony could see her swollen red eyes. Although he didn't make a sound, his wife noticed him with her sixth sense.

"Tony."

"Pep."

"Can I bring you anything? If you're hungry, I have… ehm some apples, and… and…"

She was close to losing it. The spatula landed on the table, then Tony pulled her in a tight hug. The strong woman kept it together for a few seconds before the tears were falling again and she sobbed against his chest. Softly, the millionaire stroked over her hair to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," Pepper cried. "I'm trying to be strong, but… I thought I had lost you forever."

"You don't need to be sorry for anything, Pep. I'm the one, who left you. I could've said no to Steve and Nat and this other little guy."

"You're an Avenger, Tony. You needed to help them. Otherwise, everyone would still be dead. The kid, Peter, he would be dead. And I know that it hit you hard to see him die in your arms."

The memory stroked Tony hard, and he clutched his wife desperately. The snap was still vivid in his mind. Peter disappearing into dust; him left alone on a planet with a blue alien and a space ship that wasn't working. The little games they played; the food they shared,…

"Tony?"

The millionaire blinked and concentrated on the voice of Pepper and her small hands, which cupped his face. Her tears were smeared, while her gaze was concerned.

"You were shaken. Don't you feel good? Do you want to take a nap?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Tony, you were…"

"Although I know that Peter is alive again… let's just say that the memory still hurts. So, let's not talk about it."

"You should take a break."

Tony sighed heavily, then he took Pepper's hands from his face and held them between his own. There wasn't a good time to tell her the news. No matter what, she would hate it. This way, he was at least able to keep her from punching him.

"Pep, there is something I need to tell you."

Confused, Pepper furrowed her brows, but it took one look in the sad eyes of her husband, and she knew exactly what he wanted to confess.

"No!"

"You don't even know what I wanted…"

"Tony, we just got you back!"

"I know that…

"How can you do this to us?! You have a daughter!"

"And I love you both very much."

"Then don't! Say no to Clint and Bruce! Tell them that you sit this one out! You need to recover!"

"It wasn't their idea."

Tony waited for the outburst and the first punch, but instead, Pepper just closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"Pepper? Pep, please say something."

"Why? It looks like you won't step back, not even for your family. You always have to be the hero."

"I don't want to play the hero. They brought me back, but Nat is still dead."

At least those words made Pepper open her eyes again. Tony was relieved to see that they weren't full of anger anymore. Instead, they were filled with a glimpse of hope.

"So… you won't fight?"

"I don't intend to. We go to this planet, tell this… keeper to give us her body, and then this magician will bring her back as well."

"And what then? What comes after this mission?"

"No more missions. The Avengers are down. The new kids are taking over. For me… for us this means, we concentrate on our family; on our daughter. No more fights, no more aliens. Maybe we invite Bruce and Clint's family and the others for barbecue. The kids could play; we have some good drinks and live our lives. Just like any other normal family."

"Since when are we normal?"

"We are a typical American family."

"You are Iron Man. Your friends are a scientist who turns into a big green guy, a Nordic god who can control the thunder, a super soldier who fought in World War II but looks like 30, a guy who is an amazing shooter with a bow, oh and a Russian ex-spy who could probably kill you with a paperclip. And don't get me started with all these other talents."

"If you put it like this, it doesn't sound like typical Americans."

"No, it doesn't."

Pepper pulled her hands out of Tony's grip and kissed him softly.

"Do you remember what you promised to me on the day Morgan was born?"

"How could I ever forget?" asked Tony, and his thoughts moved to the greatest day of his entire life.

* * *

"_AAAARGH!"_

_Pepper's scream echoed through the room, while Tony was standing beside her; holding her hand._

"_You're doing great, Pep. Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing."_

"_You are… not… helping," the exhausted woman said angrily. If she didn't have to focus on breathing and pressing, she would have strangled her husband by now._

"_It's almost over."_

"_How do you know? I don't remember that you have a doctor in medicine now."_

"_I'm trying to lift your mood."_

"_Again, you're not helpiAAAAAAARGH!"_

_Tony steeled himself to prevent himself from screaming when Pepper smashed his fingers. He knew that she was strong, but he had never imagined that she could break his fingers. The contraction went by, and Tony breathed again. No one had told him that getting a child was that hard._

"_We are almost there, Mrs. Stark," the nurse said. "With the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can."_

"_See? It's almost over. I was right."_

_If looks could kill, then Tony would be dead now. Sometimes, it was better when he wasn't right, or at least he shouldn't talk about it out loud._

"_Never mind, Pep. You're doing great."_

"_Shut up!"_

_The millionaire took the towel and wiped away the sweat from her temple. If this would take any longer than Pepper would probably explode. Or kill someone; preferably him. Tony had thought that getting a child would help them to move on. That they would get over Thanos' snap and start a new life. Now, he wasn't so sure about it anymore._

_The next contraction came and Tony was sure that now the whole hospital knew about Pepper's pain. Her scream almost made him lose his hearing and his ears were ringing. When he thought he couldn't take it anymore, her voice faded, and instead there was a new scream; loud, innocent and full of life. It was the most beautiful sound Tony had ever heard. He couldn't take his eyes from the little body, which the nurse wrapped into a blanket before she handed him the baby. His daughter. This was his child._

"_How is she?"_

_Pepper sounded tired and exhausted. Nothing reminded of the furious woman that nearly broke the fingers of her husband or promised to kill him._

"_She is a real beauty. Just like her mum," Tony answered and pressed a soft kiss on her sweaty temple._

_A smile appeared on Pepper's lips. Now that the torture was over, she was able to smile again._

_`I don't want to see her in pain anymore, or being angry. She has already done so much for me in the past years since I met her. She deserves to be happy and to live a normal life.´_

_The millionaire's eyes fell on his sleeping newborn daughter. He could feel her warmth in his arms and couldn't stop his fingers from caressing her little head._

_`And my daughter deserves a normal life. Without fights; without danger; without enemies coming her way.´_

"_Tony? Is something wrong?"_

_When Pepper wiped away a tear that was rolling down his cheek, Tony noticed for the first time that he was crying. Softly, he pressed a kiss on his daughter's head._

"_No more fights."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_She deserves to be happy."_

"_And we will make sure that she will be."_

"_I promise you both – here and now – that I will not be Iron Man anymore. There will be no more fights and no more danger. Our daughter will live in peace and happiness and will be loved."_

_Pepper's eyes widened over his confession. Those words meant the world to her, although she had her doubts about how well her husband would stick to it. For years she had wished to hear them._

"_Pepper? Please say something."_

_Slowly, she put her hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring smile._

"_No more fights."_

* * *

Tony returned from his memory trip. This time, Pepper wasn't tired and exhausted – well, maybe a little; having a child wasn't easy – but he saw the same sadness in her eyes, which she had this day.

"You promised to give up the fighting. You wanted to be there for Morgan."

"I know."

"You already broke it when you went on this time travel thing with your friends."

"To be honest, at first I just wanted to hand Steve the wrist bands and return home."

"I never believed it for a second."

"Because you know me too well."

"You are Tony Stark. Your beautiful brain is always working and inventing. Besides, you love it to be Iron Man."

"I like it to win."

"And you did; countless times. But the last time had a price. And the price was your life. Now, you got a second chance – a chance to do something different – but… you can't change who you are. You help people, even if you have to put your own interest behind theirs."

"I love you. And I love our family."

"I know that, Tony. I never doubted that. But it is not enough to make you stay; not even for your own health."

"It'll be a short trip. You won't notice that I'm gone."

Pepper smiled sadly, then she gave him a kiss on the lips before she stepped out of his embrace.

"When will you leave?"

"Does this mean that I have your approval?"

"I already told you when you went for the last mission that it always has been a mistake to try to make you stop. Now is no different. I would be glad if you would say I-stay-out-of-it, but I'm not an idiot, Tony. You will go no matter what."

Quickly, Tony took a step forward and pulled his wife in for a second hug. He had found the best woman in the world.

"This time, I will come back. We get Nat's body, Strange reawakes her, and everything is right again."

"I really hope you are right."

"I am," Tony confirmed, then he noticed a strange smell. "Pep, is there something burning?"

"Our dinner!"


	9. Chapter 9

**So, Tony convinced his wife and will help to bring Natasha back. But how will they do it?**

**This chapter will be a little interaction between the three boys before they jump into the next adventure to save the beloved redhead. Enjoy it :)  
**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Clint sat on the passenger seat with closed eyes. He still couldn't believe what had happened. Pepper had allowed her husband to travel through time again. If it would have been Laura, she would have shackled him to a chair or something. But here they were; Tony driving the car, and Bruce lying in the back in an uncomfortable position.

"Tell me again. How did you convince Pepper that you could go?" asked Bruce in disbelief.

The big guy had been as shocked as the archer had been. Not one of them had thought that this conversation would end with a smile and no broken furniture.

"I didn't need to convince her, Bruce. She is my wife, she loves me and she knows that I will return to her."

"It's hard to believe since you already had this plan the last time you left."

"Thank you for reminding me."

"Don't get me wrong. I can't be happier about you being back. But I'm scared."

"You are the Hulk. You don't get scared," Tony answered.

"I'm not the Hulk. I'm the better version of Banner and Hulk. Means I have feelings. I can cry, I can miss my friends, and I can be scared. It doesn't take the fear away if you're strong."

"Alright, guys," Clint interrupted. "Let's forget how Tony convinced Pepper or that you have feelings, Bruce. Strange proved that he can bring back the dead. Tony is breathing again; now let's do the same with Nat. How do we do this?"

"Don't ask me. I just got back from the dead," the driver said. "I supposed you would have a plan. Please tell me you have a plan. I don't want to spend another month until I see my family again."

"Bruce? Tell me you made a plan for Nat's resurrection, just like you made one for Tony."

"Of course, I have a plan. I was working on it the past month."

"Do you care to share with us, big guy?"

"We need help to get there."

"Of course, we do," Clint sighed.

* * *

Tony turned around himself, while he took in the surroundings. The three men stood in the `new´ Avengers building. Clint saw that the millionaire didn't like what he was seeing.

"This is… different."

"Well, I don't have that much money like you have," Bruce defended himself. "I will make it bigger as soon as this is over."

"Or you help him," Clint whispered to Tony, so Bruce wouldn't hear them. "After all, he is the reason you're here again."

"I have a better plan."

"Who would have thought?"

"As soon as Natasha is back with us, we bring the whole team together and rebuild this thing."

"You want to ask a 100 years old Steve if he helps you building a house?"

Those words stopped Tony. Obviously, he hadn't thought this through.

"We bring the whole team together, and Steve… is… watching… and… organizing everything."

Tony smiled proudly, while Clint just shook his head. It didn't take a day until Tony Stark was already planning how to build something.

"Guys, my plan is in here," Bruce said and waved them inside his chaos.

"What happened here?" asked Tony with a horrified look on his face. "Did the former Hulk appear and smashed all your belongings?"

Bruce lowered his head in shame. The house was a mess, and it was his fault. Since he was so focused on getting his friends back, he hadn't cared about tiding up. Angry, Clint gave the millionaire a punch on his arm.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"For being insensitive and an idiot."

"It is okay, Clint. Tony is right. This is a mess, and I should do something about it. And I will, I promise. But right now, all I care about is getting Nat back."

"Tell us about the plan, big guy," Tony said and sat down on the couch.

"Well, you all know that Nat died in 2014. We could try it and visit this planet now, but this wouldn't help us, because, for us, 9 years have passed since her death. She wouldn't be more than bones and clothes."

"Happy Halloween," Tony murmured.

"Keep talking like this and I'll shoot you," Clint threatened angrily, and gave his friend an evil eye.

"Yeah? You would shoot someone, who just returned from the dead?"

"However," Bruce interrupted them loudly to get the attention back. "This means, we have to travel through time back to the year 2014 to get her intact body."

"Great. When do we leave?" asked Tony yawning.

"I'm not done, Tony. We won't go alone. Since this is a different planet, we should call Captain Marvel for this."

"Why? We are the Avengers. We don't need help."

"We WERE the Avengers. Thor is gone, Steve is literally an old man now, you are not back to 100 percent, and Nat… well, she is not here either."

"If you put it that way, it really sounds bad."

"Alright, how do we contact this woman, Bruce?"

"She left me a pager."

"A what?"

"You know those old things, which allowed the people to send messages? Carol gave one to Fury when she met him the first time on earth. Now I have one too."

"Those things still exist?"

"Apparently."

"And you can just call her whenever you want to?"

Again, Bruce lowered his head, but this time he was studying his fingers as if he had never seen them before. Obviously, Captain Marvel didn't give him permission to call him just like that.

"Maybeshesaidthatthisisonlyforemergencies," the big guy mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Tony and leaned forward. "Maybe it's because my ears are still filled with dirt, but I didn't get a single word you just said."

"Emergencies. She said it is for emergencies."

Clint and Tony groaned in unison. Again, the plan was based on the hope that they could convince someone to help them. Why couldn't it be just once that someone was automatically saying "of course I'll help you"?

"Activate the pager, and let's hope that she doesn't kill us."

"And what do we do, while we wait for her answer?" Tony wanted to know.

"I would say we prepare everything for the time travel. You know, checking the machine, our outfits, the wrist bands you made… Oh, and if you get bored you could help Bruce tidy up the house."

Silence followed Clint's words, while Tony just watched the archer as if he had lost his mind. Finally, the millionaire shook his head before he talked again.

"Do I look like a cleaning woman, Barton?"

"No, but you could do something nice for your friend."

"I'm always nice."

"I'm sure there are a lot of people, who would disagree."

"Are you envy on my popularity, Barton?"

"Only in your dreams. I like my privacy. And when this is over, I will return to my family."

"And you think that Nat will stay with you guys? She isn't the kind of woman, who stays at home, do some cooking and cleaning. Natasha needs action and a good fight."

"I can't tell what Nat will do. That's up to her. But I'm out. I lost my family once, and I swore to myself that I would never let this happen again. Never. My kids deserve it to grow up with a father, who is there for them. My wife needs a husband, who helps her with the kids and everything in the house. SHIELD doesn't exist anymore. The Avengers went separate ways. My fight is over."

Clint was surprised when he saw how Tony nodded at his words. Was this a side effect from his resurrection?

"You're right."

"Could you repeat that? I think I have a problem with my ears."

"Don't push your luck, Barton. Since the day Morgan was born, something changed for me. I would move the world for my daughter. I want to be there for her when she grows up. I want to comfort her when she is hurt, but most of all, I want to tell her every day how much I love her and that she is loved. When I held her for the first time in my arms… she touched my heart in a way I never would have imagined. I promised that day that I would stop being Iron Man."

"Then why did you break your promise?"

"Because there were people like you, who wasn't as lucky as Pepper and I had been. So many people had been gone, and I had found the solution for time traveling, which could bring back all those people. How should I have looked my daughter in the eye, telling her about the snap and Thanos and that I had a solution, but didn't use it, because I had been selfish?"

There was no answer. Clint finally understood Tony's motivation. Years ago, the millionaire did everything to be a superhero to the world. But now it had changed. Now, everything this guy wanted was to be a hero to his daughter.

"Guys? Can we start with our preparations or do you need another minute?"

"Where is the machine?" asked Tony and stood up from his comfortable position. "We have work to do."

* * *

**Author note: I hope you liked the chapter and return for the next chapter. See you next Monday. Have a great week everyone :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Another week is over, which means that I have a new chapter for you. I hope you are still excited with this story, and maybe some of you will leave me a review about your thoughts (still very appreciated) :)**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Clint held his time travel suit with shaking hands. The last time he had worn this, he had lost his best friend. Now he wanted to put it on to bring her back. Was that even possible? Would this red guy return the body? Or would they have to fight for it? What if someone would accidentally fall over the edge?

The archer felt nervous. When Strange had worked on Tony's revival, he hadn't felt much. Sure, he was his friend and he was glad that he was alive again, but it had been an experiment. Now, they actually thought about getting Natasha back. What would he say to her? How would she react? Would she recognize him?

"Clint? Are you alright?"

The former SHIELD agent was close to jumping in the air when Bruce appeared behind him. How was it possible that this big guy was sneaking up on him? He had been an excellent agent. He went on countless missions, but this guy…

"I'm fine, Bruce. Where is Tony?"

"He works on the machine."

"Any word from Captain Marvel?"

"I don't know if she answers or if she flies by. Are you sure that you are…?"

"Why shouldn't I be fine?"

"Because now we are talking about Nat."

"Technically, we don't talk about her, but try to get to the year and planet, where she had fought with me and had lost her life."

"Do you wanna talk about your fight?" asked Bruce softly.

"I already told you everything when I had returned with the soul stone."

Bruce turned quiet, while Clint put the suit on a hanger. Why couldn't this be over already? Should he call Laura and tell her about Tony's revival? Or should he wait until he would return with a living Natasha?

"At this time, you just said that you two fought about who would jump down. But you didn't tell us what you guys did to keep the other one from falling. What did Nat do differently that she was able to jump?"

"You don't wanna know, Bruce."

"Maybe not. Or maybe it would help you."

"No, the only thing that will actually help me is when she is breathing again and back in my arms. Nothing else."

Bruce wanted to say more, but Clint was done talking and left the big guy behind.

* * *

They waited for Captain Marvel's arrival all day. Tony and Bruce kept working on the time machine to keep themselves busy, while Clint took a nap. There was nothing more he could do. Even on the next day, there was still no sign of her. No message and no sighting. The archer predicted that the fabulous woman wouldn't show up. Either she was occupied with space stuff or she noticed that this wasn't an emergency and decided not to come.

When night fell, Bruce was angry and took a walk outside. Tony watched him from the window, while Clint was lying on the couch again.

"Do you want to bet? I say he loses his temper in… the next hour or so."

"He won't lose it," Clint said tiredly. "He is the good Bruce now. And this Bruce doesn't smash things."

"He doesn't smash things? Are you kidding me?"

"He is your best friend. How does it come that you didn't notice?"

"I have a lot of best friends."

"What are you trying to say? That you can't know everything about everyone?"

"Something like that."

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not your best friend."

Clint waited for the sarcastic answer, but there was nothing. All he got was silence. Finally, he opened his eyes. Tony was still standing at the window, but his gaze was focused on a bright light at the sky.

"Tony? Are you alright?"

"I know this light."

"The stars?"

"That's not a star. That's her. She really is coming. We should go outside."

Tony turned around and left the archer alone. Sighing, Clint sat upright and looked at the light again. Was it getting bigger or was that a hallucination? No, the light was growing and moving fast. Quickly, the former SHIELD agent followed his friend. Now, it was time to convince another person of their plan.

* * *

Bruce was wrenching his hands nervously, while he waited in front of the building. Tony stayed at the entrance, hidden in the dark. They wanted to convince the woman and not spook her. Clint walked to the nervous scientist.

"Relax, Bruce. She gave you the pager to call her."

"For emergencies."

"Did she explain to you specifically what kind of emergencies?"

"No," the big guy answered slowly.

"Then she can't say anything."

"I wish I would have your optimism."

The earth vibrated when Captain Marvel landed. Quickly, the glowing light faded until the men saw the woman behind it with her hands on her hips.

"Alright, boys. I get the feeling, you don't know what the word `emergencies´ means."

"Captain Marvel, welcome back on earth," Bruce said with a smile that could have scared every kid on Halloween.

"I told you to call me Carol. We are friends, remember?"

"Of course."

Still, the crazy smile stayed on his face, while he kept playing with his hands. Carol returned his smile, then she turned to Clint.

"Why is he smiling like this?"

"He is nervous."

"About what?"

"Because we have a reason to call you. And he is worried that you don't say yes."

"Why should I say no? We fought together against Thanos. Of course, I help you when you need me."

"You may regret this after you hear what we are planning," Tony's voice sounded from the dark.

Carol narrowed her eyes to slits to see better, while Clint and Bruce watched her face closely.

"Who…?"

This was all she was able to say. When she recognized the famous millionaire, her face turned pale. Immediately, Bruce was by her side to steady her.

"Please, don't freak out."

"Freak out?" Her voice was way higher than normal. "This is… this is… this looks like Tony Stark!"

"You're right, and if you…"

"He is dead! He died after using the infinity stones!"

"We know and we can…"

"Why is he talking? And walking? And alive?!"

"Maybe we should go inside," Clint suggested and helped the big guy to guide the shocked woman inside the building.

Tony held open the door and gave her a friendly smile, which didn't help her to calm down. They sat her down on the couch, but she couldn't take her eyes off Tony. Bruce handed her a glass of water, which she handed back.

"I think I need something much stronger to accept this."

"And I think you should start with water, while we explain," Bruce insisted, and this time she took the glass.

"What happened?"

"Well," Tony said. "I died, and then a magician with a stupid cape brought me back. Now, I'm sitting here with you. End of story."

"So… you're a vampire now?"

"No, of course not. I'm a human being just like you. Well, scratch that. I'm not like you. You have… superpowers and can fly, while I need my suit to do that. What are you exactly?"

"This is not about me. We are talking about you. Who decided to bring you back? The magician?"

"That was me," Bruce admitted and held up his hand as if he was in school again. "I didn't want to accept that my friends died."

"So, you did… what exactly?"

"I… asked… for help."

"Who? This magician Mr. Stark talked about?"

"And Clint."

"What was his request?" asked Carol the archer in disbelief. "If you would like to become a grave robber?"

"If I'm honest, I'm only here for the support because I have a personal interest, but I don't have any skills that could help with the revival."

"That's crazy."

"When I heard about it the first time, I called Bruce crazy as well. But you have to admit, Tony is a really good proof that his plan works."

Again, Carol's gaze went to the millionaire, who winked at her with a big smile on his face. Sighing, she turned back to Bruce.

"Alright, let's say I believe this stuff; even when it's nearly impossible. Why am I here? What do you need from me? It seems to me like your plan worked perfectly."

"It did; with Tony. But we still have one friend, who needs to be brought back," Bruce explained.

"You want to do this again? Isn't one undead enough for you?!"

"I'm not undead."

"The friend we talk about gave her life for one stone, so we would be able to bring back half of the universe. And she didn't even know that we would succeed."

"If you want to hear my opinion, I think that the dead should stay dead."

"We hear you, but we will go," Bruce said, and this time he looked tough. He wanted to convince the powerful woman. "But we would feel better if you would join us on our next trip."

"Just out of curiosity," Carol answered, while turning her head to the side. "Where do you want to go?"

"A planet called Vormir."

"I've heard of it – nothing good – but never been there. And you need me to… get you there?"

"Not exactly. We have to travel through time first."

"Time travel," Carol said and again she looked as if Bruce was talking crazy. "So, now, you did not just solve how to bring back the dead, but you also solved how to travel through time? And you honestly think, I will sit here and believe you?"

"We brought back the stones from the past. And you tried to help us to get the gauntlet to the time machine during our fight with Thanos."

"I was supposed to bring this gauntlet to a strange van. I thought you wanted to blow it up."

"And in there was a time machine."

"In a van? How do you put something like this inside of a car?"

"That wasn't our invention. If you want to know more about it, you have to call Dr. Pym."

"I can't believe that I talk to you about time traveling."

Exhausted, Carol leaned back and closed her eyes. This was a nightmare. She should stop giving people a pager to call her. First Fury, and now them. She was supposed to protect the universe; not talking about time traveling and bringing back the dead. Why couldn't these guys just have regular hobbies like golfing or fishing or playing baseball?

"When do we leave?"

"Is that a yes?" asked Bruce hesitantly.

"Well, I assume we are talking about Nat, who we want to bring back, am I right?"

"Yes," Clint answered.

"Then hell, yeah, my answer is yes. For five years she tried to keep everything together and was the only Avenger, who made sure that the rest of the world was safe. We reported to her almost daily about our progress, and… I liked her."

"This means we have a go."

This time, Bruce's smile was real and didn't scare someone. He was close to full-filling his plan. They would get Natasha's body back with Carol's help. Then they would only need Strange's help once again, and their life would be back to normal. The end was within reach.

"Let's travel through time, guys."

* * *

**Author note: So, the Avengers are ready to travel through time again. Will they be successful? Do they have a chance to get her back? You will see it next week. Have a great week :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**At first, I want to tell you that I really wanted to upload the new chapter already yesterday, but my notebook decided it would need an update, which blocked me for hours! So, the next chapter comes today.**

**To all of you, who waited patiently for any news for Natasha: I hope you will like this chapter and the ones, which will come after.**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

"Who designed these suits?" Carol took a closer look at her red and white suit. "Are you sure that they will bring us through time?"

"We have done it just a month ago," Bruce explained. "Everyone returned… well, except… you know."

"Nat's return didn't fail because of a false suit."

Clint wore already his own, ready to move. Now that the time was close to returning to the goddamned planet, which took his best friend's life, he felt nervous. If he could make a wish, he would like to be already back from the trip. He didn't need to see this red freak again. Who knew what the archer would do to this guy. Maybe an arrow through his skull would ease the pain a little.

"Can we go, or do we want to talk about the new fashion?"

"Alright, Grumpy. I'll put this thing on."

"If you would know what awaits you on this planet, you wouldn't be in such a good mood."

"So, you've been to Vormir. Tell me about it. How is it there?"

"At first, you walk on sand as if you are in a desert, but there are a few lakes. Then there is this high mountain, which you need to climb. The higher you get, the colder it becomes until snowflakes are falling down."

"A desert and snowflakes?" asked Carol in disbelief. "Sounds like a weird place to me."

"You have no idea. The keeper waits for us on top of the mountain. A guy with a red face. Actually, I'm not sure that he even has a face. It looked more as if this was his skull. And he knows your name and the name of your parents – even if you don't know them – and because he has to prove that he is a smartass, he will tell you your name and theirs."

"Will he know where we can find Nat's body?"

"If she is in the same spot where I left her, then we will need your or Tony's help. I can't fly, and the only other way to get to her would be jumping off the edge."

"Flying down. Get it. Shouldn't be a problem. But I suggest, we keep Tony out of this as long as possible. He doesn't look good. I assume it's a side effect from returning from the dead."

Clint and Bruce nodded in unison. They both had agreed that they wouldn't allow Tony to fight or to put himself in danger. Pepper wouldn't forgive them when they would bring back Tony, and again he wouldn't be alive. Especially his daughter wouldn't understand what happened.

"That is our plan as well," Bruce explained and lowered his voice. "We couldn't stop him from coming. After all, this machine is his invention and when something goes wrong, we could use his brain. But he is not supposed to fight."

"Let's hope he will listen to you, guys."

"What are you guys doing over there?" Tony yelled from the platform. "Shall I bring you some tea? Or do you prefer coffee?"

"Relax, Stark. Are you that desperate to visit a new planet?" asked Carol while she pulled the suit over her own. "Don't you have enough from the last time you went to Titan?"

"At least this time, I can travel through time to get home. The last time I was stuck in space with a blue smurf. But the answer to your question is no, Danvers. I want this to be over so I can go home to my beautiful family and live my happily ever after."

"Did he just say `happily ever after´?" Carol looked at the two men in shock. "What is wrong with him?"

"I have a daughter, who loves Disney princesses!" Tony explained still yelling. "Now get all your asses up here!"

Bruce went to the control station to start the machine, while Clint and Carol joined Iron Man on the platform.

"By the way, no one is saying anything about when we see each other again," Tony said. "This seems to be a bad omen, and I don't accept it that someone stays behind again. Do you hear me?"

"Let's get started," Clint answered.

Bruce arrived on the platform as well and all their helmets closed. Then the ground opened for them and sucked them into the quantum realm.

The ride was over after a few seconds, and they stood in the desert. Clint's feet gave up when he recognized the dark land and the mountain in the distance. He remembered how he had crossed the desert with Natasha and how they had tried to distract each other. A gentle hand touched his shoulder.

"Clint? Do you need a minute?" Carol asked.

But the archer shook his head. He didn't want to waste any more time. His dead friend was waiting for him on the top of the mountain to bring her home. They were so close. He needed to control his feelings.

"No, I need to be up there to make this right."

"Why don't you hang on to Tony, while I take care of Bruce. A little flight will shorten this trip."

Carol helped Clint to stand up, then Tony was by his side and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Let's get Nat home."

Clint's only answer was a nod before the millionaire put his Iron Man suit on and the two men took off.

* * *

The four Avengers landed in front of a strange passage, which Clint called the entrance. This had been the place where the red guy had appeared to Natasha and him. And they didn't have to wait long. From the shadows emerged the keeper in his black cape.

"Clint, son of…"

"Yeah, I know," the archer interrupted him angrily. "We already met, so we can skip the part where you prove to all of us that you know our names and the ones from our parents."

"Very well, what do you want today? Do you need the soul stone again?"

"Absolutely not. You can keep this stupid thing for eternity. I don't want to see it ever again."

"Then what is it you want? And why do you need a backup?"

"We are here for… I want you to return…"

Clint couldn't say it. He was back here on Vormir, where his personal hell had started. He wanted his best friend, but he couldn't say the words. Luckily for him, Carol took over.

"We are here for our friend's body."

"She is gone."

"We know that she is dead. But we want her body."

"I'm afraid, I can't do that," Red Skull answered calmly.

A scream escaped Clint's lips, and he gave his opponent a hard punch to the face. Red Skull probably saw it coming, but he didn't move. Instead, he allowed the archer to punch him, which threw him to his knees. Then Clint stood over him with his bow and an arrow.

"YOU GIVE HER BACK!"

"I told you that I can't," the keeper repeated still in his calm voice.

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T NEED YOU TO SHOW ME THE WAY! SO, YOU EITHER STAY DOWN OR I'LL SHOOT YOU!"

"Clint," Carol said. "Leave him here. You know the way, so show us."

Clint couldn't resist punching his opponent again before the four Avengers kept moving. The abyss wasn't far away from the entrance. When the former SHIELD agent entered the platform, all his memories returned to him and he couldn't stop seeing his fight against Natasha about who would sacrifice their lives.

* * *

_He kicked her feet away and threw her on the ground. Natasha groaned in pain._

"_Tell my family I love them."_

_Clint was ready to give his life. Sadly, his best friend wasn't going to let him win. She grabbed him and changed their positions in a smooth move. Suddenly, she was the one standing over him with her wrist cuff pointing on him._

"_You tell them yourself."_

_He had always wondered how their enemies must have felt when her widow bites hit them. It had looked like it would hurt like hell, and when Natasha's bite hit him, he understood how bad it hurt. It was like electricity flowing through your body. Really painful. Clint heard Natasha's footsteps when she ran towards the abyss. He couldn't let that happen! Quickly, he pushed the bite of him, grabbed his bow and an arrow while he stood up and aimed for his friend. The arrow hit the ground just beside her and exploded. Natasha was thrown to the side and hit the ground hard again. He hated it that he had to hurt her, but this was the only way to keep her safe. The archer watched how his friend was groaning in pain from the explosion, while he threw away his bow. He wouldn't need it anymore. His time was over. This was his way to do something good again. Natasha's gaze found his, while he ran towards the abyss. It was hard for him to leave her like this. Hurt because of him. Clint forced himself to focus on his path, then he jumped. Natasha would get the stone, and his family would live again._

_Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind, and then Natasha was in his arms, while they fall down together. Clint felt her moving and shooting her hook, which stopped their fall immediately. Clinging to each other they crashed into the stone wall, but Natasha slipped away. In the last second, the archer grabbed her hand to keep her from falling. This was the moment when he realized that she had connected him to the hook to save his life._

"_Damn you," Clint said breathlessly._

_This wasn't how he had planned this to happen. She should've stayed up there with this freaky red guy! With his free hand, he tried to reach hers, so he would be able to pull her up again. But he couldn't. The rope put him in an impossible situation. There was nothing he could do. Scared, he looked at his partner for years and best friend, who was hanging under him and watching him._

"_Let me go."_

"_No," Clint answered close to tears. "Please, no."_

"_It's okay," the beautiful redhead whispered and smiled at him._

"_Please."_

_But Natasha didn't listen to him. Although he begged her not to do it, she put her feet against the wall and jumped. Her hand slipped from his grasp._

"_NAT!"_

* * *

"Clint."

Again, it was Carol's voice that brought him back. He hadn't noticed that he had walked to the abyss, while he had been caught in the memory. Now, he felt the cold air on his face again, which dried the wet tears, which were rolling down his cheeks.

"Clint, if you can't do this, then…"

"No, I can do it." He wiped away the tears with his sleeve. "She is my best friend. I'll bring her back."

He gave Carol his hand, so she would hold him, while he took a look over the edge to see the ground. He remembered Natasha's fall and when she hit the ground. The way her body had laid there motionless and… The archer shook his head. He needed to stay focused. They would bring her back to life. She would talk and walk just like Tony was doing.

But when he looked down, the ground was clean. There was no body and no blood. Natasha wasn't there!

"Clint?" asked Carol when she felt him tremble.

"She is not there," he whispered in disbelief.

"What? You have to speak a little louder."

"She is not there."

What went wrong? Natasha's body should be lying on the ground of the abyss with her dry blood surrounding her. Why wasn't she there? Carol, who still hadn't understood what the archer had said, pulled him back from the edge. When she saw his pale face, she was worried.

"Clint, talk to me. What is wrong?"

"She is not there."

"You mean Nat?"

Quickly, she risked a look of her own. But nothing had changed. All she could see was grey stone.

"Where is she? I thought you said that she fell down."

"She did."

Clint didn't recognize his own voice. It felt as if something was choking him. This part should have been easy. They had convinced all those people to help them; Doctor Strange, Pepper, and Carol Danvers. He was so close to his goal. Only to be crushed at the end.

Suddenly, he felt how someone slapped him in the face. Confused, his eyes focused on Carol, who was the one, who was responsible for the pain.

"Snap out of it, Clint. If you want Nat back, then you have to stay focused. You said Nat fell down, but now she is not there. Where is she?"

"I told you that you can't have her back."

Red Skull was back. He stood behind Tony and Bruce with his black cape. Again, he acted as if nothing could disturb him. Clint, who couldn't take it anymore, pulled out an arrow, drew his bow and aimed at the keeper. The arrow hit Red Skull's head, and everyone turned silent. Slowly, the dead man moved up his arm, then he pulled out the arrow and let it fall on the ground.

"Alright, that is weird," Tony said in disgust.

"Where is Natasha?!" Clint yelled.

"She is gone. You've got the soul stone in exchange for her soul."

"Steve returned the stone!"

"They never return what once belongs to them. I'm afraid there is nothing here for you."

"So, Natasha's body is down there," Tony said.

Angry, their opponent clenched his teeth. He had talked too much. Carol sighed heavily. This conversation was annoying her. She had agreed to help to bring back a friend and not to talk to a strange guy.

"You boys can keep talking. I will take a dive. Maybe I can find a trace."

"You want to kill yourself?" asked Red Skull and chuckled.

"Don't be silly." Carol started to glow and lifted herself up in the air. "Why should I jump when I can fly?"

"NO!"

If Red Skull would still have skin, he would have turned pale now. His yell echoed over the platform. A smile appeared on Tony's face.

"Well, well. Look who just decided to give us a hint."

"You're… you're wrong! There is nothing down there! You are wasting your time!"

"Danvers, go and find Nat's body. We keep this guy busy," Tony ordered before his mask fell into place.

"I said no!"

Red Skull was furious, and with his rage appeared a strong storm. Tony grounded himself with the help of his suit, while Clint hid behind Bruce, who wasn't affected at all. You needed more than a little storm to move the famous Hulk. The only one, who was sent up in the air was Carol, but she steadied herself pretty quick, then she raced towards the place, where Clint had seen his best friend for the last time. The keeper wanted to follow her, but Bruce stopped him with a punch. Immediately, the storm was gone.

"Let's give this guy the fight of his life," Tony said and activated his weapons.

Meanwhile, Carol arrived on the ground of the abyss and took in her surroundings.

`Alright, Nat. This red guy said that THEY don't give back what they once had. Give me a hint. Where are you? Where are they hiding?´

It didn't look as if there was a hidden hole, and there was no other way to leave this platform. Carol turned to the massive stone wall that went up to her friends. Were those mysterious creatures hiding IN the mountain? She flew closer, but still, she couldn't see anything that would remind her of an entrance. Just when she was about to give up, she saw that there was a gap in the stone. It wasn't visible until you looked from the side of the platform.

"Got 'cha."

The cave behind it lied in darkness, so the powerful woman activated the power inside of her, which made her glow. Immediately, she was able to see the walls and the path. She saw no blood, which could lead her the way, and she was surrounded by complete silence. Maybe the residents were asleep. Again Carol went up in the air to shorten the search. She didn't want to be in this place longer than necessary. She found small caves on her way, which were filled with strange cocoons hanging from the ceiling, which were glowing in different lights. The light faded and reappeared, just like… a heartbeat. Carol moved closer, but it was hard to look inside, and she was afraid to touch one of these things. When the light faded, she saw for a second the silhouette of a human.

`This is what the red guy meant with that they don't return the bodies. They need them for something. But when Natasha is in one of those things, I will never be able to find her before the creators appear.´

Cursing, Carol continued her search. In this timeline, Natasha was dead for two days. Maybe those guys needed time to create one of those cocoons. Maybe she was in a different cave. Suddenly, she heard voices in the distance. Soon, Carol reached a bigger cave – this one had to be located exactly under the platform where the Avengers were fighting against the red guy. Since it was the first place with fireplaces, she was able to turn off her glow and observed what she had found. In the middle was a big water hole that reminded Carol of a hot thermal spring. Two grey monsters with big eyes and long, thin fingers were using some kind of magic power to heat the water. On a flat stone, lied a lifeless body. This was probably the preparation room for the cocoons. Carefully, Carol moved closer to the body on the stone. She needed to see the face. Hell, she prayed that this was Natasha. She couldn't open all those cocoons to find her body. The creators didn't notice the sneaking woman. A pile of stones protected Carol from being seen. Slowly, she stuck out her head over the pile, but the monsters weren't looking. So, she risked a look at the pale, lifeless body. It was Natasha!

`Now, I just need to grab her and get out of here before…´

Cursing, she ducked when the creators moved to the flat stone. They grabbed Natasha's body with their creepy, thin fingers and carried her to the steamy hot water.

"Crap," Carol whispered.

The water started to gleam in a bright light, which grew until it hit the ceiling. Mysterious symbols – Carol couldn't read them – appeared on the ceiling and on the water pool, and the creators made strange noises as if they were singing.

"That doesn't look good."

Suddenly, the water rose around Natasha's body and built a dome over her until Carol wasn't able to see her friend anymore. But the hidden woman was able to see how the water turned into a hard structure and turned white. This had to be the place, where they created those cocoons.

"Alright, Carol. You need to do something now before it is too late or Nat is lost. No time to play safe."

The soldier sighed heavily, then she jumped in the air and activated her power. She shot her energy on the hardening dome, which exploded into million pieces. The creators screamed in surprise or pain; Carol didn't know and didn't care. As fast as possible, she flew to the lifeless body of her friend, cradled her in her arms and raced towards the exit. This time, she didn't need to be slow or careful. The path back to the light was a straight line, and her energy lit up the cave. Sadly, the screams of the creators must have called the other monsters; ugly, grey things, which had sharp claws. They came from every side, from the caves with the cocoons and the ceiling. Carol tried her best to avoid their claws, since she couldn't fight with Natasha in her arms. The problem was that she couldn't leave her friend either, because those monsters would take her back the second she turned away. She couldn't let that happen. Besides, her suit was made to take hits without her getting hurt. Carol increased the energy in her body to blend the monsters with her light. The exit was already in reach. They couldn't stop her!


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter was pretty important to me, since Natasha is my favorite character, and I still hate Marvel for killing her. They really need to think of something to bring her back.**

**I hope you guys will like this chapter as much as I do. So, enjoy and leave a review if you like :) **

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Carol sighed in relief when she was out of the dark cave. She had fulfilled her task: find Natasha's body and don't get caught. Her friend was cold as ice in her arms and still wet from the strange water pool. It was strange to carry her, knowing that she was dead. The last time, they had spoken, the Black Widow had given new orders, and everyone had listened.

The screams of the monsters behind her grew louder, then they crawled out into the light. Carol saw that she had drawn out every citizen under the mountain.

"Crap!"

Before she could get caught, she flew up to the platform, where her friends were waiting. She didn't know if these monsters could climb up the wall, but they for sure couldn't fly. This would give her some time to escape and to warn the Avengers. The edge came closer when suddenly a red figure was falling over it and came in her direction.

"Tony!" said Carol just when Iron Man was able to catch himself and stopped his fall.

"Oh, hi, Carol. I see you were successful."

"Apparently, but I'm afraid I found some guys too, who aren't happy about my arrival."

Tony risked a look down to the platform, and Carol could only imagine what his expression had to be when he saw their pursuer.

"Alright, this doesn't look good."

"Funny, I thought just the same."

"We should leave."

"No complaints here."

Tony put the wrist band on Natasha's pale hand and activated step one, so she would wear the suit. Since it was hard for a dead woman to put on a suit, he had modified his tech. This way, it was reacting like the Nano technique that created his own suit. Another push and Natasha would be able to travel with them back in time.

They returned to the platform, where Clint and Bruce were still fighting against Red Skull, and it didn't look good. The archer was bleeding from a head wound and pushed a hand on his rips, while the big guy was still not ready to fight again with his bad arm. Their enemy pushed them aside to free his way. Then his eyes fell on Carol, who carried Natasha's body.

"No!"

"You put up a good fight, Red, but you never had a chance. We are Avengers. We don't leave a friend behind," Carol explained with a smile on her face.

"I don't allow you to take her with you."

"Then it's a good thing that we don't need your permission," Tony said and helped Clint to stand up. "Avengers? Let's get home."

Everyone pushed the wrist bands, while Red Skull called a storm again.

"I won't let you leave!"

"Enjoy your eternity."

The Avengers felt the pull from the time, and then they were back in the coloring quantum realm, which brought them back to where they had started. As soon as the suits were off and they were standing in the time machine again, Clint walked to Carol.

"I take her," he said with tears in his eyes.

The archer held out his hands, but Carol hesitated. She saw how fragile he was right now. It had been hard on him to return to the place where he had to fight with his best friend. And now she was here, but dead.

"Clint…"

"I take her."

"Listen, you are hurt. Why don't you patch yourself up, while…?"

"No, I'm good. Bruce, call Strange. He shall open a portal."

"I understand…"

"No, you don't. I have to do this. Give her to me!"

His hands were shaking, but he didn't move away. Tony laid his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"If you don't want to listen to her, Clint, then this is fine by me. But please listen to me. I'm your friend, and right now, you're not looking good. And when the guy, who returned from death is telling you this, you should think about it."

"I have to do this," Clint whispered, still not taking his eyes from Natasha's face.

"Allow Carol to carry Nat. She is stronger than she looks like. Patch yourself up, and when Strange is done working his magic, you can be there for Nat. She will need you."

The former SHIELD agent couldn't stop the tears from falling, but it seemed as if Tony's words were working. He lowered one hand, while he put the other one on Natasha's head to caress her red hair.

"What did they do to her?"

"Don't worry, Clint," Carol answered. "They didn't hurt her. Actually, it looked as if they are needing the… bodies for some kind of energy."

"Energy?"

"Don't think about it. All that matters is that Nat is back with us."

"Guys," Bruce interrupted. "Wong opens a portal for us."

In the next second, the yellow circle appeared in the air, and the grumpy magician stepped into the room.

"I see you were successful. I have to admit that I doubted that you would make it."

"Thank you for your trust." Tony's answer was soaked with sarcasm.

Carol stepped through the portal and Clint followed her. Bruce wanted to go as well when he noticed that Tony wasn't moving.

"Tony?"

"I can't come with you."

"Why?"

"I have a wife and a daughter, who wait for me to come home."

"Don't you want to see…?"

"When I'm honest, no, I don't want to see it. Strange is doing his thing, and I really hope that you guys will visit us. I would like to see Nat again, and Pepper as well. But I promised that I would help you to get Nat's body back. We traveled through time, we fought against the keeper, and now my job is done."

Bruce wanted to protest, but then he realized the truth behind the words of his friend. Tony had a second – no actually a third – chance of happiness, and he wasn't going to throw it away. He had died once for the greater good. And although he had a great family at home, he had agreed to help them bring back Natasha. His job was done. The green scientist gave his friend a crushing hug until Tony said with a hoarse voice: "I need to breathe, Bruce."

"Sorry."

"I'll be fine."

"Shall Wong open a portal to your house?"

"And leave my car here? No, big guy. I drive myself home."

"Are you sure you can do this? You were just in a fight with a creepy guy on another planet in a different time. Don't you think…?"

"I'm Tony Stark. Even if I should have a problem, my cars are designed to take over if I wouldn't feel well. Don't worry."

Now the big guy was the one with the tears in his eyes. Awkwardly, Tony patted his arm. He didn't like it when people were crying.

"Hey, why are you crying? Your plan worked. You brought me back, and now Strange is doing the same with Nat. Our team is alive again and live a happy life."

"It's just… I missed you, Tony."

"I would say `likewise´, but for me, time just jumped forward. But I appreciate it that you risked everything to get me back, Bruce. Not everyone would have done it."

"Just promise me that we will see each other from time to time."

"Of course, you guys are always welcomed at my house. And Morgan needs to hear some stories about how cool her dad was. Who else could tell these stories better than my friends, who were there with me?"

"Is this conversation taking longer?" Wong interrupted. "Or am I suppose to stand here all day?"

"I think it's time to go, Bruce. Or Mr. Grumpy here, won't bring you to the guy with this stupid cape."

As always, Wong didn't react to an insult. Tony waited for it, but soon he realized that there wouldn't be one. He sighed heavily.

"Goodbye, Bruce."

"Goodbye, Tony. Say hi to Pepper from me."

"I will."

Bruce waved one last time, then he walked through the portal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carol and Clint arrived in the room, where Strange had reawaken Tony. The woman laid down her friend on the empty table, and Clint helped her.

"You're back."

There was no joy in Strange's voice. It sounded as if he had wished that the Avengers wouldn't come back. He stepped closer to the table with the body and gave her a short examination.

"Why is she dripping?"

"She was lying in some kind of water when I found her."

"What do you mean by `kind of water´? You bring her here, although you don't know what she came in contact with?"

"I'm sure it is nothing a magician can't handle. Especially, such a strong one like you."

"True," Strange answered.

He snapped with his fingers, made some weird movements with his hands, and then the water was gone. Carol smiled proudly.

"See? I was right."

"Congratulations, now all of you need to leave this room. I need silence and no observers, while I do my magic."

Carol nodded and turned around to leave. She understood that the magician didn't want anyone to watch this process. In the end, all that mattered was that he kept his promise. The archer wasn't thinking the same.

"I will stay."

"This is not up for debate, arrow man. You both leave or I won't help you."

"When she died, it was my face she saw in her final moment. Nat is a trained killer, and you will be weak after you will finish your job. I saw it after you brought back Tony. Nat never saw you before. When she wakes up, she sees a stranger bending over her, while her mind will put her on this other planet. Tell me, Harry Potter, how are your chances to survive this?"

When Strange heard the name `Harry Potter´ his face turned red, but then he thought about Clint's words. Natasha had no superpowers like her fellow Avengers. She and Clint, they were humans with great fight skills. In his weak condition, Strange wouldn't be able to fight her off; or explain anything before she would kill him.

"Fine, you can stay. Everyone else will stay outside. Do some yoga, or take a walk, or read a book from our library. Wong can show you the way."

Carol gave Clint a reassuring smile, then she left the two men alone and closed the doors. Clint took Natasha's cold hand. Soon, this nightmare would be over. She would be alive again, would be a pain in the ass, and would make his children happy.

"You need to get away from the table. Sit on the chair, and say no word. This process is complicated, and even the slightest distraction could be fatal. Do you understand me?"

"I will do nothing that would threaten her return."

"Good, then sit down and shut up."

* * *

The hours went by, while Clint watched every move the magician made. There were lights everywhere, but Natasha was as pale as she was before. Clint had thought that this time it would go faster – after all, Strange knew what he had to do – but he had been wrong. Like promised, the archer didn't say a word or asked for a glass of water. The suspense was killing him, and he saw that Strange was at the end of his power as well. Sweat was running down his face, and it looked as if his face lost some color. Bringing back the dead wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Suddenly, Strange pressed his hand on Natasha's chest, and it started to glow in a bright light until the woman opened her eyes and let out a scream.

Immediately, Clint was on his feet, but it was still too late. Natasha grabbed the magician by his throat, while she dug her fingernails into his arm with her other hand. Strange had no strength left to fight against her attack. Luckily, the archer was there and grabbed the arms of his best friend.

"Nat! It's me! Nat, look at me!"

It seemed as if she wasn't listening or she didn't recognize him. The redhead released the magician, only to attack Clint. She freed herself from his grasp, then she threw him on the ground until she was sitting over him. Instead of pushing her away, Clint pulled her down on him and held her tight in his embrace. Natasha tried to fight him, but she had no room to attack him.

"Breathe, Nat. You are safe."

Either the words reminded her of the first time she tried to run from his family or it was his voice that calmed her. No matter what, Clint felt happy. She was back! He could feel her warm skin and her fast heartbeat, and this was everything he needed. Again, the tears rolled down, and he didn't care.

"Clint?"

It was her voice. How much he had missed it to hear her talking; to say his name just one more time. He knew he had to explain everything, but he couldn't let her go. He was afraid that this would only be a dream; that she wasn't real. Now, he understood how Bruce must have felt when Tony was standing in front of them.

"Clint, I can't breathe."

His hands were shaking when he released his grip on her, and she pushed herself up to look at him with her beautiful green eyes.

`If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.´

"Where are we?"

Natasha examined the room, but Clint just wanted to look at her. So, he cradled her face in his hands and pulled it back in his direction.

"You're real" His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"Why shouldn't I? But why are we here? What happened to the soul stone? I thought one of us had to die to get it."

The archer sat himself up and pulled her into a hug again. Natasha was still confused, but she hugged him back.

"Clint, I'm glad to see you too, but I really would like to hear an explanation."

He wanted to tell her what she had missed. He wanted to tell her that they had defeated Thanos; that they had gotten all the stones and had undone the snap, but it was as if his voice were gone. He couldn't bring one word over his lips.

Suddenly, the doors were forced open, and a glowing Captain Marvel and a furious Bruce stormed in; followed by Wong, who tried to stop them.

"Carol? Bruce?"

"Nat!"

Carol didn't care about Clint being in the way and hugged both of them.

"I can't believe that it actually worked!"

"Would any of you…?" started Natasha, but couldn't finish her sentence, because Bruce came over as well and joined the group hug.

"We are finally all together."

* * *

**Author note: Don't worry, guys. This story isn't over. I have six more chapters for you with our favorite redhead. So, I see you next Monday. Have a great week :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Let's have a little family reunion, shall we? Enjoy it :)**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Natasha felt a little dizzy. Carol had brought her a glass of water and had tried to explain as much as possible, while Clint was just holding her hand. The poor man was still looking as if he would see a ghost, which would explain the tight grip on her hand, but Natasha didn't care. He was her best friend, and she was glad to see him. Carol had explained to her that the guy Natasha had almost strangled was Doctor Stephen Strange and that he was the reason why the Black Widow was there. Wong had brought the exhausted magician to bed, who couldn't stand on his own feet anymore. Natasha and Clint sat on the table, while Carol and Bruce preferred to stand in front of them.

"Alright, let me get this straight; Clint and I, we went to Vormir to collect the soul stone in 2014. We fought, I won, and I died. Clint ended up with the soul stone, returned home, and then you, Bruce, undid the snap of Thanos?"

"That's right. Everyone else would have died trying. I was the only one, who was able to survive, and even I took some damage."

"Does this mean… Laura and the kids…?"

Natasha turned her head to Clint. She couldn't finish the sentence. This was all she had wanted for her friend; that he would get his family back. Clint nodded and a small smile appeared on his face. Natasha released a relieved sigh and leaned her forehead against the archer's.

"That is good. That is really good."

"Nat, if you like you can stay with me," Bruce suggested and his cheeks turned pink. "The building is not like you remember it, but I'll work on it."

"No." Finally, Clint had found his voice again. "Nat is coming with me. My family needs to see her. They think she is dead."

"How did the kids take the news?" the former spy asked.

"Not well. Nate is too small to understand, and Lila and Cooper are having a hard time. Hell, Laura and I have a hard time. I couldn't forgive myself that I couldn't save you, and she was frustrated that I couldn't do it."

"That was my choice, Clint. You deserved it to be with your family. I had no one."

"That's not true. You have us. We are your family."

Natasha smiled at his words, then she pulled him in for a hug. For her, nothing had changed. One moment ago, she was falling into the abyss, and then she was waking up on a table with a strange man bending over her. She understood how the people must have felt after their return.

"I would like to see everyone. When can we leave?"

"Immediately."

Wong stood in the doorframe with his stoic face. Bruce turned to him.

"How is Mr. Strange doing?"

"He is exhausted. I hope you don't find someone else, who needs to be brought back from the dead. Mr. Strange used too much power, and it will take a while until he is back to normal. I hope you understand how dangerous this can be for our world. He is the most powerful of us."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If there is anything we can do…"

"You can leave. I will open the portals for you. You just have to tell me, where you wanna go."

"Nat needs some time to recover. She just came back," Bruce protested.

"Wherever you guys go, the danger is following you. So, don't take it personally, but we want you gone as soon as possible."

Bruce wasn't going to accept it. He opened his mouth, but Clint was faster. If he was honest, he wanted to go back home as fast as possible. At home, it was quiet and peaceful, and it would give Natasha the chance to recover.

"Just bring us back to the Avengers building. I left my car and my stuff there."

"You want to drive? Are you insane?" Bruce asked in disbelief. "Clint, you are hurt, you traveled through time, you fought against a creepy skull-man, and you haven't slept well in days. You would kill Nat and yourself."

"I'm fine!"

"Unbelievable," Wong said and opened a portal.

The Avengers landed in Bruce's living room. Natasha was shocked when she saw the chaos. This was not even close to the building she had left just a month ago.

"What happened here?"

"You can explain it later." Wong motioned for Clint to grab his stuff. "Let's go outside. I will open another portal to your house. This way, you just have to drive through it with your car, and you don't risk killing yourself or your friend."

While Clint grabbed his bag and everything that belonged to him, Natasha said goodbye to Carol and Bruce and thanked them for their help. She promised that she would contact them as soon as she had a full explanation about the events that happened during her death.

Then she followed Clint and Wong outside to the car. The Black Widow saw the ruins of the former building and was shocked. The fight must have been terrible! And she had missed it! Clint pulled her gently to the car.

"Get inside the car. I will explain everything later."

"But what…"

"Later, Nat."

Wong opened a new portal – a bigger one this time – and instead of the street, they saw the beautiful house of the Barton's. It was already dark outside, and the lights were on. Clint thanked Wong before he started the car and drove the short way to his home.

"This is an interesting way of traveling," Natasha said with a smile. "We should do this more often."

"Actually, I want to push it to a minimum."

"No more fighting?"

"I want to have a life with my family. Others can take our place now."

The two friends got out of the car groaning. Both were still feeling not good. Clint had taken some hits during his fight against Red Skull, while Natasha was still a little dizzy from her return to the living. Slowly, they moved to the house when suddenly, the front door opened, and Laura came out. Natasha stopped.

"Do you want to talk to her first?"

"I assume this would be the best," Clint answered.

His wife looked shocked with big eyes and a hand over her mouth. Although she had been the one, who had pushed him to help Bruce with his crazy plan, she had never expected that he would actually return with a living Natasha. The Black Widow tried to smile, but then she swayed a little from the dizziness. Immediately, life came back into Laura's body. She started to run, and Clint stopped in his movements to brace himself for her hug. But to his surprise, his wife ignored him and aimed for the redhead.

"Laura!" Clint wanted to grab her hand, but he was to slow.

In the next second, Laura had her arms around Natasha and was crying. Natasha exchanged a look with her best friend, while she hugged his wife back. Sadly, Clint could only shrug with his shoulders. He wouldn't act as if he understood women. So, they waited until Laura was ready to release the redhead.

"You're here." Laura's voice sounded hoarse after the whole crying. "How is that possible?"

"Apparently, with a little magical help."

"And you will stay…?"

"Alive? I hope so."

"It's not like you only get one more day and then…"

"No, honey. Nat is back for real. She has a magical object inside her body that keeps her alive," Clint explained. "But it doesn't make her immortal. She can die when someone kills her, just like we die."

"Wait, let's go back to the part with the magical object," Natasha interrupted. "Carol didn't mention this."

"Because she didn't know. Strange told me before he started with his magic. He needed to connect your soul with your body, so he used a small object which he filled with magic. This thing keeps you alive, so you have to be careful. If someone takes it from you, you will die. Just like when someone destroys it. You have to be careful, Nat."

Natasha groaned. She wasn't the kind of person that took it easy or was careful. She was trained to be a killer, and she always searched for the fight.

"And this is not up for discussion," Clint said strict.

"Don't you owe me an explanation?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I heard you. I have to be careful. Still, I want this explanation."

"Auntie Nat!"

All three adults turned their heads to the two children, who came running towards them. Lila was crying just like her mother when she threw her arms around her aunt, and Cooper had tears in his eyes as well, although he tried to be the tough one when he joined the group hug.

"Hey, you two. Look how tall you are."

It had been a long time since Natasha had seen Clint's children. After the fight at the Leipzig airport, she had gone into hiding from the government and hadn't been able to visit them. She hadn't even called Clint since he was under surveillance and wasn't allowed to have contact with any of his fugitive friends.

"Alright, kids. Let's give your aunt some room."

Cooper obeyed, but Lila just shook her head. She wasn't able to talk or to hold back her tears. Her father sighed heavily.

"Lila, please."

The respond of the little girl was to tighten her hold on her aunt. Helpless, the archer looked at his wife for help.

"Lila, Cooper, why don't you bring Nat inside? The guest room is ready, and she needs to sleep."

This was a compromise the girl was accepting. Both kids took the hands of Natasha and guided her to the house, while Clint pulled his wife in his arms and kissed her.

"Is this a dream?"

"Believe me, Laura, I was thinking the same thing when she opened her eyes. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening."

"She is back for good?"

"Unless someone kills her, or she kills herself again."

"We have to prevent this, Clint."

"We will. The fight is over. There are new people – younger – and they can take over for us. Steve is an old man, Thor is… who knows where he is right now, Bruce is happy being himself, Tony has his family, and I'm also done. All I have to do is convince Nat that this is…"

"Wait! Let's turn back to `Tony has his family´? Do you want to tell me…?"

"He is back as well."

"When?!"

"He was our first try since it was easier to get his body than Nat's."

"And Pepper gave you… the body?"

"We convinced her."

"Oh Clint," Laura said in shock. "Does Nat know?"

"That we brought him back too? No, she doesn't know much about what happened after her death. She knows that we got the stones and that we undid the snap. But she doesn't know about our second fight with Thanos, or about the other Avengers. I couldn't."

"You have to tell her."

"And I will. But first, she needs to rest. Hell, I need a break. Getting Nat's body was hard, and we couldn't do it without a fight. I'm exhausted."

"Let's get you inside."


	14. Chapter 14

**We stay with the Barton family. Clint needs some time to get used to the new situation, just like Natasha :) **

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

Restless, Clint rolled from one side to the other. He was exhausted and he knew that he should get some rest, but his mind was racing. Did this really happen? Or had this been the worst dream ever? His gaze fell on Laura, who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He had held her until she had fallen asleep. He could only imagine how bad this must have felt for her.

`I need to take a look.´

Carefully, the archer left the bed and sneaked to the guestroom. The door was open, and the room was filled with people. Cooper and Nate lied cuddling on a big mattress on the floor, while the bed was crowded with Natasha and Lila. The young girl almost screamed in protest when Laura and Clint suggested that she should sleep in her own bed. None of the kids had been willing to leave their aunt alone. Slowly, Clint moved to the bed and gave his daughter a soft kiss on her cheek. Then his gaze fell on his best friend. A red lock had fallen over her face. Gently, Clint put it behind her ear without waking her.

`She has to be exhausted if she isn't even flinching by my touch.´

Smiling, he walked to an armchair that stood by the door and sat down. He wouldn't find any sleep if he always had to move out of bed to remind him that this wasn't a dream. Finally, his heavy eyes closed and he welcomed the needed sleep.

* * *

It felt like a second when he felt a hand on his arm and his eyes shot open. Tired, he looked into the beautiful eyes of his wife, who was smiling at him, while she stuffed a pillow behind his head.

"Sleep," she whispered. "They are all safe. Go back to sleep, Clint."

"Why are you awake?" He imitated her whisper.

"I was searching for you. You were gone, but I had an assumption where I would find you."

"I'm sorry, honey. I tried to…"

"Don't worry, Clint. To be honest, I feel better too, knowing that we are all in the same room."

She kissed him, then she moved to the mattress and her two sons. Since the boys were cuddling, there was enough space for their mother. Content, Clint gave in to the sleep again.

* * *

In the morning, Nate was the first one, who was awake and he decided that it was time for his family to stand up as well. Everyone was in alarm position when the little boy found the remote control of the television in the guestroom and pressed the power button.

"Nate," Laura groaned tiredly. "Turn it off."

"I'm hungry."

"I'll make breakfast, but first you turn off the tv."

Smiling, the youngest Barton did what his mother asked for, then he ran out of the room. Lila and Cooper fell back on the mattresses. They weren't ready to leave their beds. Laura looked as if she would have liked to join her oldest, but she knew Nate. It was never a good idea to take eyes off him.

"Keep sleeping, guys. You need it," she declared before she left the room.

Clint was rubbing his tired eyes. He felt as if he hadn't slept at all. Natasha, who was awake as well, watched her best friend and eyed the armchair suspiciously.

"I think I have to pay this magician another visit."

"Why?"

"My memory isn't quite the same."

Alarmed, Clint looked at her. Did Strange make a mistake? Was there something wrong with her? Or with the magical object? Then he saw the tired smile on her face, and he understood that she was teasing him.

"I could swear that you went to your bed last night. But here you are. Do you want to explain this to me?"

"Sleepwalking."

"And this started last night? Such a coincidence."

"What are you trying to say, Romanoff? Do you think I'm lying?" Clint's question was followed by a big yawn.

"I know you do."

The archer leaned back in the armchair, while his eyes were locked with Natasha's. They both knew the truth, but they also knew that he wouldn't admit it. Finally, he closed his eyes.

"Go back to sleep."

"Don't you want to help your wife?"

"If you want to get rid of me, I have to tell you that this isn't working."

Natasha smiled at his words, then she watched the children sleeping. At the Bartons house, everything seemed peaceful. The Black Widow enjoyed it to be there and to take a break from the fighting. Slowly, she stood up and walked to the door. Everyone was asleep and Cooper was even snoring quietly. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm. When she turned her head, Natasha saw that Clint's eyes were open again; watching her suspiciously.

"Where are you going?"

"Downstairs. Go back to sleep."

She wanted to free her hand, but Clint wasn't letting go. Surprised, she had to face him again.

"Clint, I'm not going anywhere."

"You need to rest."

"I did, but I can't sleep all day, and you know it. Let me go."

She saw the pain in his eyes when her words triggered the memory of their last fight. Automatically, his grip became stronger around her wrist, and he dug his fingernails into her skin, but he didn't notice. The only thing Clint saw at the moment was how they both were hanging over the abyss on Vormir, and him trying to keep his best friend from falling. Quickly, Natasha put her arms around the poor archer to pull him out of the terrible memory. Luckily, Clint reacted immediately. He released her wrist, only to put his arms around her waist and to pull her close to him until she was sitting on his lap. Natasha felt him tremble and she felt guilty for bringing back the memory.

"I'm sorry, Clint. I didn't mean to…"

"You have no idea what kind of feeling that is to see your best friend falling, and you're not strong enough to hold her."

"I jumped. You had no chance to hold me."

"It nearly killed me. Did you think about it – just for one second – what your death would mean to me?"

"Clint…"

"Or to my family?"

"I did it, so you would get the chance to reunite with them. You needed them, and if this situation should happen a second time, I would do it all over again."

He pressed her tighter against him. He didn't care that they both needed air. Everything he needed was to feel her; her beating heart; her smell. The archer wouldn't allow anyone to take her away from him a second time.

"You stay with us. Our fighting time is over, Nat."

"I know that you want to stay out of it and that you want to enjoy the time with your family, and I understand. But I'm a fighter, not a family person."

"Not anymore. You got your second chance to live. I don't allow you to throw it away."

Smiling, Natasha released him, gave him a soft kiss on his cheek before she looked him in the eye.

"Don't you get bored saving me every time?"

Clint put a hand on her neck and pulled her face to him until he was able to lean his temple against hers.

"Never," the archer whispered. "You are my best friend, and I will ALWAYS save you."

"I thought I'm a pain in your ass."

"You are, but it doesn't change a thing."

Natasha smiled, but it turned quickly into a sad one.

"I don't know if I can do what you ask me too."

"We'll help you. Don't worry; Nate will keep you busy."

As if the youngest Barton had listened, they heard the sound of breaking glass from downstairs. Clint groaned when he heard Laura's angry voice, while Natasha couldn't hide a smile.

"Yeah, I think that was my cue. I should go downstairs to help Laura."

The Black Widow pulled back, but Clint grabbed her arms to stop her.

"You go back to bed. I'm the husband, I will go."

"Have you looked in the mirror, Clint? You are exhausted. You slept for… what; a few hours? If I recall Carol's timeline, then you went with her and Bruce to Vormir, you guys fought against the keeper, and then you stayed by my side, while this magician brought me back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds as if you have missed a lot of sleep."

Of course, the archer didn't want to give up. He opened his mouth to protest, so Natasha put her hand over his mouth and glared at him.

"Shut up, Barton. Do me the favor and sleep."

The two friends started a staring contest until Clint gave up and nodded. Relieved, Natasha stood up and pointed at the bed.

"Join Lila. The armchair is really uncomfortable to sleep in."

"Yes, ma'am."

Natasha was surprised when her best friend was actually walking over to the bed and lied down. She wasn't used to it that he gave up that easily.

"Nate, I said stop!"

Quickly, the redhead closed the door behind her before Nate and Laura would wake the rest of the family again.

* * *

At the end of the day, Natasha sat outside on the bench in the field and was staring at the stars. After dinner, the children didn't want to go to bed. Especially, Lila fought against it with her parents. She hadn't left her aunt's side all day. Natasha had joked that when she should get problems, she already had someone by her side. But now the day was over, and the adults had decided that it was time to give the redhead some room to breathe – a decision Lila didn't take well.

Natasha heard him coming over the field. She knew that it wouldn't take long for him to join her. He sat down beside her and gave her a nudge with his shoulder.

"What's on your mind, Romanoff?"

"How is Lila doing?"

"That's on your mind?"

Natasha looked at Clint from the corner of her eye. Was he trying to be funny? The archer tried not to crack, but in the end, he couldn't hold back the smile.

"Alright. Don't worry about her. She is a teenager, and right now, she starts to test her boundaries."

"She isn't letting me out of her sight."

"She likes you."

"If I wouldn't know it better, I would have said you put her up on this."

"Don't be silly. I can keep an eye on you on my own. I don't need my daughter to do it."

Natasha's gaze returned to the stars, and they sat there in silence until Clint couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you tell me what's on your mind or do I have to guess?"

"I think that you still owe me an explanation."

This time, Natasha turned her head towards her best friend, who was thinking about a way out of this situation. A thousand scenarios went through his head, but not one would work on the redhead. Finally, he decided on a quick escape.

"Wow, it's really getting late. We should go back to the house. I'm really tired."

He jumped on his feet, but before he was able to get away, Natasha grabbed his arm and pulled him back on the bench. Clint cursed when she didn't let go.

"Can't we do this another time?"

"No, I want to know now. Tell me what happened after you got the soul stone."

Clint tried to free himself, but Natasha wasn't ready to let him go. She waited the whole day to get her explanation. She had respected his wish after the magician had brought her back, but at one point everyone ran out of patience. Natasha needed to know.

"You're still a pain in my ass."

"I already know that."

"Fine, you want to know what happened? Well, I can assure you that you won't like the story, but here it is. After I got the soul stone, I returned to our timeline with the others. Everyone completed the mission – although I don't call our mission a success. Tony created our own gauntlet with his tech. After that, we kind of fought about who would put it on, and in the end, it was Bruce, who convinced us that he was the only one, who could survive the power of the stones. Well, the big guy was right. He undid the snap and brought back the rest of the universe, but the power was too much even for him. That's the reason why his right arm is looking so bad. He is still healing from it."

Clint stopped. This was a nice ending for this horrible story. They got the stones, they undid the snap, everything was perfect. But Natasha was no fool.

"Why do I have the feeling that there is way more to this story?"

"Because you know that it's never that simple with the Avengers. Shortly after our success, our world exploded – literally. What we didn't notice before was that the blue alien woman wasn't the one we knew. Apparently, her younger version from 2014 swapped places with her. She destroyed our time machine and brought the 2014 version from Thanos and his army to our world, then he blew up our building."

"You had to fight against Thanos?" Natasha sounded terrified, and Clint saw the pain in her eyes when she thought about her fight with the titan.

"We did, and it was a disaster. I had this stupid gauntlet, and I had to run away from his monsters. The rest of the team was either stuck under the ruins or was fighting against this crazy guy. It didn't look good for us, especially when his whole army appeared. I didn't know how we should survive this, but suddenly there were portals opening and through them came all the people we had lost due to the snap. This panther king with his army, Sam, the magicians, Wanda – people I've never seen before in my life – and everyone was ready to fight. You should have been there, Nat."

Clint squeezed her hand, and Natasha moved closer to him and lied her head on his shoulder. She wished, she could have helped them fighting this monster.

"I would have loved to, but it looks like you defeated him with the help of our friends."

"Not really. Sure, it wasn't looking bad, but Thanos refused to die. He wanted the stones, and it was hard to keep them away from him. His allies were strong and they tried everything to fulfill their task. In the end, it was Tony, who saved us all."

"What did he do?"

"He used the stones."

"He… that's impossible. Clint, you just said it. Bruce was the only one, who was strong enough not to die. Tony is a genius and has an amazing suit, but even this doesn't change the fact that he is a human like you and me."

"I know."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"Nat, Tony died."

Natasha started to tremble. She thought about her visit to Tony's new home. How Steve and Scott and she came to him to ask for his help. She thought about Pepper and the little girl in Tony's arms; his daughter. Tony had one condition for helping them; just one. He didn't have wanted to lose what he had gained. His beautiful, little family. Clint felt the change in his friend and pulled her in for a hug.

"Nat…"

"Why? Why him? He had a family. He had everything he ever wanted." Tears were running down her cheeks and she couldn't stop them. "That's not fair."

"Let me finish. We are not even far from being done. Yes, Tony died, and I reunited with Laura and the kids. Thor went on a mission with this raccoon and his friends – they are somewhere in the galaxy doing who knows what. Bruce started to rebuilt our building and even created a statue of you and Tony, which are standing in front of his entrance. And Steve… he was the one, who was supposed to return the stones. Bruce sent him back in time, but when it was time for him to return… it didn't work."

"What happened?"

"Steve had decided that he should do what made him happy. So, he returned to his first love."

"Peggy Carter."

"Nat, Steve isn't dead, but he is an old man now. Captain America is gone."

"Where is he?"

"He lives in a nice house. Bruce watches over him, and now that I have you back, I think I will visit him too."

"I want to see him."

"We'll go together."

"I have to tell you that I don't like how our story ended."

"Who says that I'm done? I'm still not there where we got you back."

"How much more? I don't know if I can take more bad news."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, just get it over with."

"Alright, well, a month passed, and suddenly, Bruce appeared at my house with a crazy idea. He thought about bringing you and Tony back from the dead. Of course, I didn't believe that we could do it and sent him away. Laura was the one, who convinced me to give it a try. So, I drove to him, and together we convinced the magician and Pepper to help us – although Pepper was close to killing us. I have to admit that I was still not believing in it, but Strange proved me wrong. After an exhausting night, we had Tony back."

Natasha pushed Clint back and looked at him with big eyes. Was it possible? Didn't they just bring one person back but two?

"Don't mock me, Clint."

"I'm not, I swear."

"Tony is alive as well? He is with his family?"

"Pepper and the little Morgan were really happy to see him."

Natasha felt as if she was able to breathe again. She didn't destroy Tony's family. He was back with his loved ones and would see his daughter grow up.

"And Carol already told you the rest of the story. We asked her for help, traveled to Vormir, fought with the keeper, while Carol got your body, and then Strange worked his magic again."

"So, we're all back? What about Vision?"

"I don't think that Strange has the power to bring back another person. It was exhausting to even bring back the two of you. And I have the feeling that he doesn't like us very much."

"I want to see them. I want to see Steve and Tony. Do they know? About my return?"

"Tony does, but we thought it would be better not to involve Steve. I don't know how much his heart can take, now that he is an old man. But we will tell him about you and Tony, I promise."

Natasha wiped away her tears, then she put her arms around Clint's neck and hugged him. She had missed a lot since she had died. Her friends had been in danger, and she hadn't been there to help them.

"You guys had one hell of a ride."

"I'm just glad that it is over. I got my family back, I got you back, my life is back to normal just like I want it to be. And I will make sure that it stays that way."


	15. Chapter 15

**Good evening, everyone. It is time for the other Avengers to find out about Natasha's return. And a little disagreement between two friends :D**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

On the next day, Natasha was up early and ready to leave the house. She wanted to see her fellow Avengers, especially the old Steve. It was hard to think of him as an old man. Sadly for her, Clint had activated his kids to keep their aunt busy. The archer wanted to give his best friend and himself time to recover from the trip; even although the redhead didn't like it.

After dinner – and when the three Barton's were in bed – Natasha needed to talk about his recruitment.

"How long will you sent your kids after me?"

"As long as possible. And if it doesn't work anymore, then I'll tie you to a chair."

"I realize that I should've accepted Bruce's offer to stay with him."

"Give yourself some time."

"I'm fine, Clint! I don't need time!"

"We have no idea how this magic is working on you. Maybe you will feel weak, because this implant stops working and your body remembers that you're dead. I don't want that to happen."

Natasha rolled with her eyes. In her opinion, was Clint seeing problems, which didn't exist. She didn't know the magician, but she trusted her friends. Bruce wouldn't have asked this guy to resurrect them if he wouldn't be able to make it permanently.

"Don't roll your eyes on me, Romanoff."

"You're overreacting, Barton. Don't mistake me for one of your children. I can take care of myself."

"I don't call 'playing with your life'; taking care of yourself."

"I'm not playing. I just want to visit our friends."

"Not this week."

"Since when do you decide what I have to do?"

"Since I'm the one, who did everything to bring you back."

Natasha glared at him angrily, but for Clint the conversation was over. He left his best friend at the table and ignored her evil eye. She couldn't see it right now, but in the end, she would understand why he kept her in the house; safe with his family. He heard how Natasha stood up and left the room without saying a word. She was angry, and he knew that he had to be careful this night. The Black Widow wasn't someone, who liked it to get orders.

"What is wrong with Nat?"

Laura appeared in the room. She had brought the kids to bed and was confused about her friend's reaction.

"She wants to visit Steve," Clint sighed.

"And you don't want her to go."

"She doesn't give her body time to heal! She needs rest and sleep and definitely no action!"

"Are you sure that this is what Nat needs? Or is it just what you need her to do?"

"What is this supposed to mean? I care about her well-being and…!"

"So do I. But right now, you try to change who she is. Nat is a fighter. She loves our kids and would do anything for them, but she isn't the type of person that sits on a couch, watching movies and enjoying the family time."

Angry, Clint pressed his lips together to a slim line. He knew that Laura was right, although he didn't like it. Smiling, his wife came over and pressed a soft kiss on his thin lips.

"Clint, you need to let her go. You can't force her to stay with us for the rest of her life. It would kill her."

"I can't lose her again." His voice wasn't more than a whisper. The words made his heart ache, and he didn't want to break out in tears.

"Neither do I," Laura whispered back. "But we have no right to tell her what to do and what not. She is a grown-up woman."

Clint pulled a face disapproving, but he didn't correct his wife. Smiling – and knowing that she had won this argument – Laura kissed him.

"Let's go to bed. We all need sleep, and Nate will wake us in the morning."

"I can't wait until he is as old as Lila and Cooper, and then he doesn't want to leave the bed."

Laura's laugh echoed through the house when the two adults went to bed.

* * *

Natasha waited until everything had turned silent in the house. Lila was still sleeping in her aunt's bed, but the redhead knew that she didn't need to worry about waking the little girl. She was a good archer, but luckily, not a good spy. Carefully, Natasha grabbed her stuff and left the room. Cooper's snoring was heard from the hallway, otherwise everything was silent. The Black Widow put on her shoes, then she sneaked down the stairs. She had no car to leave this place and she wouldn't steal the Barton's car. Luckily, she was trained to survive in the woods. She reached for the doorknob when suddenly pain spread from her hand up her arm. Cursing, Natasha stepped back and rubbed her hand.

"I knew you couldn't resist."

Clint emerged from the dark. He looked tired, but wasn't surprised to see his best friend sneaking out in the middle of the night.

"I can't believe that you used my own weapon against me!" hissed Natasha, while she was still rubbing her hand. She knew from experience how bad her widow bites could sting.

"And I can't believe that you act like the old Black Widow from the Red Room."

The redhead looked as if Clint had hit her in the face. She didn't know what to feel, so her emotions changed from shock to disbelief and ended in anger.

"How dare you…?!"

"You sneak out of a house filled with friends of yours in the middle of the night. What do you call that?"

Natasha opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wanted to explain herself. She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, and… and… Suddenly, she realized that he was right. In this house, she was surrounded by friends and love and she thanked them by sneaking out without anyone noticing. Clint sighed when he saw that he had won and walked over to her. Gently, he grabbed her arms.

"Nat, I don't do this to hurt you or to imprison you. I just want you to be safe."

"I am safe!"

"For now, but how long will this last? You said it yourself; you're a fighter. You don't sit at home reading a book."

"True, but this time, I don't seek the danger or the action. This time, I just want to visit my friends. One of them doesn't even know that I'm back."

Clint took a step back. He couldn't deny Natasha to visit their friends. Over the past five years, she had done everything in her power to bring everyone back and died to make it happen. She deserved it to do what she wanted to do.

"Alright."

"You let me go?" asked Natasha in surprise and raised her eyebrows. "Without any conditions?"

"I will drive you there."

"And there is the condition. Clint, I didn't ask you to leave your family again just because I want to see Steve and Tony."

"You're not going alone."

"Are you afraid that I don't come back?"

"Don't be silly, Nat. I feel better when I have an eye on you; at least for at the beginning. I promise that I will back off as soon as I have the feeling that you're good."

Natasha smiled at the promise. She knew exactly that her best friend would never have the feeling that she could take care of herself. But this was a fight for another day.

"Alright, Barton. You can accompany me."

"Really nice of you, Romanoff."

"But only if you stop using my bites on doorknobs to keep me from leaving."

"After our fight this evening, I knew that this would be your plan, and that I had to stop you."

"Say it."

"I won't use your bites on doorknobs anymore. Can we now please go back to bed? Its in the middle of the night and I'm tired, Nat."

"Then go. I'm not the one, who stops you."

"Promise me first that you will wait until tomorrow."

"I promise, now go to bed before Laura comes down and kills us both for having this conversation in the middle of the night."

"Actually…," Laura's voice came from the stairs, where she waited with her arms crossed. "I'm glad that you finally got an agreement."

Natasha and Clint looked at each other in shock. Neither one of them had heard the woman sneaking up on them. Finally, the husband sacrificed himself to calm his wife.

"Hey honey. Why are you not sleeping?"

"Good question. I would like to ask you both the same thing."

"We… had… a little chat."

"And this couldn't wait until tomorrow because…"

Laura waited for anyone to complete the sentence, but it didn't look like the two friends would have an explanation for her. Instead, they just exchanged some looks until Laura was done waiting.

"Alright guys, you know what? I don't care. You have an agreement, you will start in the morning, and now we go to bed."

Natasha was the first, who obeyed the tired mother and moved quickly to the guest room. Clint followed her example and guided his wife upstairs with a fat smile on his face. As if this would help him.

* * *

Nervously, Nat played with her hair, while she watched the landscape outside of the car. Clint, who was driving watched her from the corner of his eyes until he had enough.

"Why are you so nervous? Yesterday, you were ready to leave in the middle of the night without a message, and now you look as if you want to turn around."

"It's just… for me… I was gone for a few days, but in reality, it was a month. And… the last time I saw Steve… what do I tell him when I see him?"

"I don't know. I assume he will have some questions. But first of all, we need to find a… soft way to tell him about you and Tony. That is why we have our meeting at Tony's and Pepper's house. Bruce will be there and Pepper should be able to help us with Steve."

"I mean, we always knew that he was an old man, but he never looked like it. And now… he… it's weird."

"Well, you will find out soon, because we are here."

Clint parked the car in front of the house, and the two friends exited the car. When they walked to the front door, Natasha grabbed Clint's arm.

"What about Pepper?"

"What about her?"

"Does she know about… me?"

"Since Tony was with us on Vormir and helped us to get your body, I would say it is safe to say that she knows."

"Identify yourself!"

Morgan appeared in the door with Pepper's blue helmet on her head. Her right hand was pointing at the two intruders, as if she was ready to blow them away. Laughing, Clint held up his hands in defense.

"Please don't shoot us, Miss Stark. We are only here for the meeting with our friends."

"Say your names!"

"Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff."

The little girl pushed up the helmet so she was able to see the guests. She observed them thoroughly and then she nodded approving.

"You have the permission to enter the house."

"We thank you, Miss Stark."

Quickly, Morgan turned around and stormed back inside the house.

"Daddy! Your guests are here!"

"Who is it?"

"A man and a woman! I forgot their names!"

Clint and Natasha smiled widely. It was never boring with the Stark's. Pepper waited in the living room. When her eyes fell on Natasha, she clasped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from crying.

"Hello Pepper," Natasha greeted Tony's wife.

Those words were everything the other woman needed. She pulled Natasha in for a hug, while tears were running down her cheeks.

"It's a miracle," she whispered. Her fingers tried to feel as much as possible of Natasha's body to convince herself that this was real. "First, we get Tony back, and now you too. I feel like I'm dreaming."

"It's not a dream."

"Good, otherwise I would be very angry."

The two women parted when Tony arrived in the room. He looked Natasha up and down to examine her, then he smiled.

"You look good, Romanoff."

Natasha moved to him and pulled him in for a hug. Tears were shimmering in her eyes when she thought about Clint's story. Tony had died by using the stones to defeat Thanos. He had risked his family, although they had promised that he wouldn't lose this.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"Clint told me about what you did. That you had to fight against Thanos again, and that you had to use…"

"Don't mention it. It happened, it's over, and we're back. Now we need to tell the old man."

"He is here?"

Surprised, Natasha released Tony. She had thought she would have time, so they would be able to think about a plan. A plan, how to explain everything to Steve. They couldn't just appear and say: "Surprise, we're back from the dead".

"Bruce and he, they arrived an hour ago. Since then I have to stay inside the house. Pepper and Morgan take care of them and bring them drinks."

"Where are they?"

"Outside, at the lake. It looks like Steve couldn't be in the house without feeling guilty."

"I will talk to him first," Clint said and left the house.

Tony gave Pepper a sign to follow the archer. This was a difficult subject, and it wasn't bad to have a woman there, who would be able to calm everyone down.

* * *

Natasha and Tony watched from the distance, how Clint, Pepper and Bruce talked to an old man. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but they could imagine.

"This is Steve?" Natasha asked skeptically.

"That's what they told me."

"Is this as weird to you as it is to me?"

"Yep."

"How is it possible that we missed a whole month? I feel like it was yesterday that I flew with Clint to Vormir to collect the soul stone."

"What do you think how the people feel, who have missed five years? This must be even harder."

"You're right. I shouldn't say anything. We got a second chance."

"Daddy?" Morgan stood in front of them. She was the messenger between Pepper and Tony. "Mommy says, I shall bring you the old guy. They think it is the best when you go one by one."

"That's a good plan, Morgan."

Tony took his daughter by the hand, and together they walked to the little group. Natasha watched how they arrived and how Tony kneeled in front of the old Captain America. Steve was obviously crying – his whole body was shaking – while he clutched Tony's hand.

`What happened to us?´ Natasha thought to herself. `The Avengers are gone. Just like that. My family is ripped apart. This isn't how I imagined our ending.´

After a few minutes, Pepper and Morgan left the little group and walked to the waiting Natasha.

"I think you can go now."

"How did he take it? Is he…?"

"Go and look for yourself."

Nervously, the Black Widow placed a foot in front of the other and forced herself to move forward. She was a trained assassin. Talking to an old friend was nothing. But with every step she came closer, she noticed how she became slower. Steve was sitting in his chair, talking to Tony and didn't notice her approaching the group. He was old, but he looked happy. Clint saw how his best friend started to hesitate, so he walked up to her and took her by the hand.

"Steve?" Tony got the attention of his friend. "I'm not the only one, who wants to say hello."

The old eyes moved from Tony's face and searched around for this other person. At first, he just saw Clint, but then his gaze fell on the redhead, who was trying to put on a smile on her face.

"Hi Steve."

"Nat." His voice was a whisper, and she saw how his beautiful blue eyes shimmered with tears. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me."

Carefully, she took his hand in her own and leaned in to give him a soft kiss on his cheek. Steve tried to hug her, but since his bones were old, it wasn't such a strong hug as she was used to.

"I asked Red Skull to return your soul when I gave him the stone back, but the bastard declined it. He said that it was impossible. I fought against him, but he didn't change his mind. He didn't even allow me to return your body so we could bury you."

"It's okay, Steve. I'm here."

Natasha released him, but she didn't let go of his hand. Immediately, she saw the golden ring on his finger and smiled. In the end, Captain America had found his luck.

"You got married?"

"I thought it was the right thing to do. I never expected that Bruce would come up with such a crazy plan, and that it would actually work. We had lost you and Tony and I thought now it was time to do something for myself."

"And you were right. I'm really happy for you. Is she…?"

"She is dead. But that is okay. We had a good life together. A second chance like you and Tony."

"And we will use it."

"Just promise me something, you two."

"Anything."

Tony didn't say anything. Instead he just watched his friend and waited for what was to come.

"Give up the fighting. Tony, you have a family, who needs you. And Nat, I know you think that you can only fight, but that's not true. You just need to find something that you really like and love."

"Steve…"

"Leave the fights to the others. Scott and Dr. Pym's daughter, this spider-boy from Queens, T'Challa and his sister, and who else is out there being a hero. It's their turn now."

"It's not that…", Natasha protested, but the old man cut her off.

"Promise me. Don't waste your second chance."

Natasha thought about her next words. She felt Clint staring at her back, waiting for her to answer. Why was everyone asking her to stand down?

"Steve, I can't promise you that I will stop fighting. However…," She silenced Steve with a glare. "I will promise you that I will try to find something for me that won't include getting hurt."

"I can promise that I will stop fighting for the sake of my family," Tony said. "But I will also fight again, if I have to protect them. The new guys can be the heroes now. As long as they keep the action from the ones I love."

Steve thought about their words, and then he nodded. He knew that those promises would be the best he would get from them.

"Let's hope that such a situation will never happen."

* * *

**Author note: The next update won't be on Monday, since I'm on vacation. I can't tell you when I will update the new chapter, but it will definitely be next week. Have a great week and leave a review if you like :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm sorry that I didn't upload the new chapter last week, but I was busier than I had thought that I would be.**

**This time, you'll find out that it isn't so easy to bring back someone from the dead. Sometimes there are some side-effects. Enjoy it :)**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

A month had passed since their big revelation to Steve. The former Avengers were back to their lives, while Natasha was still with the Barton's. She had promised Steve that she would try to find a solution for herself, but until now she hadn't find one. So, she tried to be a good aunt and a good friend. But with every day that passed, she felt more useless, tired and found no rest. This didn't sound like her at all, and she cursed herself for feeling that way.

"Aunt Nat?"

It was one of those days when Natasha had lied down in the guest room to get some sleep. Lila had the task to wake her aunt for lunch.

"Mom says that lunch is ready. Are you coming?"

But the redhead wasn't reacting. Confused, Lila touched the shoulder of her aunt. Immediately, Natasha was awake, grabbed Lila's arm and pulled her on the bed until she was sitting on top of the girl.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Lila didn't like it and tried to push her aunt of her. "Get off me! I'm not a little child anymore!"

What Lila didn't know was that Natasha wasn't the cool aunt anymore, which she knew. The former KGB-spy was back, and only slowly she was pushed back by Lila's words.

"Aunt Nat, I mean it! Let me go!"

Quickly, Natasha moved away from the girl, who was like a niece to her. What did just happen? Did she attack Lila? But why had she no memory of it?

"What is wrong with you?!"

Angry, Lila stormed out of the room and left a confused Natasha behind. She couldn't explain her action. She had sworn that she would always protect Clint's children and that she would never hurt them. Why did she attack Lila?

"Nat?" This time, it was Clint's voice that came upstairs. "Are you coming down? We're hungry."

Natasha calmed herself before she joined the little family. She needed to find out what was happening to her.

* * *

Over the next month, the blackouts were happening more frequently. Sometimes, it happened during a conversation, or when she was taking a nap. Natasha couldn't explain it, and the Barton's started to notice that something was off. She couldn't hide it anymore.

One day, Clint was taking her out of the house for a training session. They didn't want to fight against bad guys anymore, but this didn't mean that they had to stop training. Although, Clint had a different motivation for the outside training. He didn't want his kids around them when he would confront his best friend about her lately change. They started with a classical fight against each other. No weapons except for their fists and feet. During their SHIELD time, this had been a normal day. The daily training, if they had no mission. Finally, both of them had met the dirty ground a few times and their shirts were soaked with sweat.

"So," Clint gasped. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Do I really have to say it?"

"Since I don't know what you want from me, I'm afraid you have to."

"You are acting weird lately."

"What do you mean with weird?"

Natasha attacked, but Clint blocked it and brought some distance between them.

"Don't freak out about it, but I have the feeling… I don't know, it's stupid."

"You started it, Barton. Now you have to talk."

Normally, he would have reacted to this by calling her by her last name, but this time he didn't. This time, he looked serious.

"Nat, you behave like your old self."

"My old self? What do you mean?"

"It's like… when you snap I see… I see the cold Black Widow, who SHIELD asked me to kill all those years ago."

It was as if Clint had pushed a bucket of ice water over her. Natasha froze, while she thought about his words. Was he talking about her blackouts? Was this what she was doing? Turning back to the person she had been before she had met Clint and the rest of the Avengers? For the first time in her life, Natasha felt panic rising inside of her. She didn't want to be this person. The old Black Widow had been a terrible person, whose only goal was to kill the next person on her list.

"Nat?"

Clint noticed the change in his friend, but he didn't understand what was going on. He didn't know the reason, which changed his friend. All he knew was that it happened from time to time.

"Nat, talk to me."

But when the redhead looked up, he was rewarded with the stare of cold green eyes. Whatever just happened, it had turned his beloved friend right in front of his eyes. Slowly, he pulled up his hands in defense.

"Easy, I'm not here to hurt you."

"No, you want me to play family with your loved ones."

Even her voice was cold. Clint remembered that she had talked like this when he had first met her. Back then, he had thought that being cold, was her way to protect herself from feelings, and that he wanted to show her that she didn't have to do that. Now, it was different. Seeing his best friend with the eyes and voice of a stranger, who doesn't want to be saved.

"Natasha, listen to me…"

"I'm done listening. Don't you get it? I never wanted this! I'm a fighter and you try to make me something I'm not!"

"I admit that I probably stepped over my boundaries, but you're not a prisoner, Nat. You can leave whenever you want to."

"Yeah? Are you sure about that? What about the last time I tried to sneak out in the middle of the night? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you, who used MY bites to keep me from leaving the house?"

"That was different. You needed time to…"

"You don't know what I need! You only do what makes YOU feel better! That makes you forget your guilt! The guilt about letting me fall down the abyss on Vormir!"

This was not good. Clint noticed how he lost the conversation. This wasn't his best friend. The old Black Widow didn't care about feelings or friendship. She used everything she had against her enemies, and now that she had all of Natasha's memories, she had pretty good ammunition against Clint.

"Nat, this isn't you. I need you to snap out of it before…"

"Can't you stand the truth, Barton? Does it hurt? Did you cry when I was lying there dead on the stones?"

"You know that I did."

"I just know what you told me. But what if you didn't? What if you were happy that I was gone? The pain in your ass had taken her last breath. Your responsibility was gone. Wouldn't this make you happy?"

"No!" Clint's hands were shaken. How could she think that he would…? No, this was the Black Widow talking. Natasha knew that he would never wish for her death. "And if you have all of Nat's memories than you know that I would never be happy about it."

The redhead smiled devilish.

"You think we are two different persons."

"Right now, you are. Nat has no memories of her blackouts. You take over, and it started after Strange brought her back. It never happened before. Not in all those years I know her."

"What are you trying to say? That I'm ill?"

"Yes, and I will fix it."

"I don't think so."

Without a warning, the Black Widow attacked. Clint, who was still caught in his emotions, didn't see it coming. The punch hit him hard in the face and threw him on the ground. Groaning, he came back on his feet and needed to block another attack.

"Natasha, stop!"

"My name is Natalia Alianovna Romanova!"

Clint cursed, while he blocked all her attacks. This wasn't what he had wanted. He had tried to reason with his best friend and not fight her. Whatever Strange did to her, it changed her. This wasn't the Natasha he knew and loved. He took a punch to the ribs, followed by a round kick that pulled his feet off the ground. He landed hard on the back with her standing over him in triumph.

"You never had a chance against me, Hawkeye."

"Never underestimate me, Romanoff," he whispered, then he threw one of her electrical disks.

She had told him that she had used it to reboot the clip bomb from Alexander Pierce during the fall of SHIELD, and that it had took her out for a few seconds. This time was no difference. Natasha screamed when the electricity knocked her out, then she fell beside him unconsciously. Clint looked at her sleeping face. This wasn't how he had imagined their conversation.

* * *

"How did this happen?"

Bruce couldn't believe it. Everything should have been fine. Everything had been perfect! What had changed?

"Don't ask me." Clint watched his best friend, who was lying in the middle of the flying Quinjet, sleeping with her hands and feet tied up with ropes. "Strange must have did something wrong."

"When did she acted not like herself for the first time?"

"I can't tell you. Lila and Cooper told us that she was acting weird, but… they are kids. I thought they wanted more attention. I didn't think that it would mean that Nat…"

Sighing, the archer turned to Bruce, who was flying the Quinjet to their next destination, Kathmandu. Tony was in the back as well, but he was taking a natural nap, while Natasha wasn't. After his fight with the Black Widow, Clint had to tie up his best friend to keep her from escaping. Then he had used an anesthesia on Natasha and had called Bruce for help. The big guy hadn't hesitated one second when he heard that there was a problem with Natasha, and came with the Quinjet. Both men had agreed that they needed to go back to Doctor Strange to find a solution. And of course, they had to take Tony with them. Pepper didn't inform them about any problems with her husband, but it didn't mean that it couldn't happen in the future.

"We are here," Bruce said, then he brought the jet down.

* * *

Stephen Strange was sitting on the ground, drinking his tea in silence. Clint looked at Bruce, who was playing with his fingers. How could he stay so calm? Natasha was lying in front of the archer, still sleeping. Tony was walking up and down behind them for a while now. It was only a matter of time until he wouldn't be able to hold his anger back anymore. And that was now!

"Alright, I can only imagine how good this tea tastes, but do you think that you could put it down and help us with our problem?" Tony sounded as if he was ready to kill the Doctor.

Strange took another sip of the tea before he put it down on the table. A little smile laid on his lips. Apparently, he was enjoying it to annoy the millionaire.

"Mr. Stark, I can assure you that this tea is indeed really delicious and it helps me to stay calm. You should try it. Maybe it helps you too."

"Thanks for the suggestion. I rather take your opinion to our little problem."

"Well, if I may remind Mr. Banner and Mr. Barton here on our first conversation we had about bringing back the dead. I told you that it is dark magic and that it isn't easy. I assumed that you would reappear sooner or later talking about problems that showed up."

"How can we fix it?" Clint asked.

"You can't."

"Are you telling me that you brought back my friend, but now I'm losing her to her past?"

"No, what I meant is that we can't cure it completely. You guys have to find a way to live with the side effects. However…" Strange continued before the archer was able to shoot him. "Maybe I can help you to minimize the personality switch. But I can't suppress it forever. You guys have to help them to stay in line."

Tony raised his eyebrows. He didn't like what the magician was implying.

"Wait a minute. I wasn't a killer before I became Iron Man. So, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Stark, but I read about your life BEFORE you were kidnapped and became Iron Man. You were a playboy, created weapons and didn't care about people at all. Now you have a family, saved this planet a few times and you try to be good. I would say there is a good chance that you could return to your former playboy times."

The millionaire with the sharp tongue turned pale. He finally understood how difficult this situation could be for him and his family. This could become a terrible disaster!

"Stop this."

"Like I said, I can't turn it off completely. But I can reduce it so that it won't happen as hard as it would be. You two would be able to turn down the urge, and with the help of your family and friends… well, they can help you with it."

"Do it."

"I don't like orders, Mr. Stark, and I would like to ask you a question. Why should I help you? I already brought you guys back – which drowned me completely by the way. Why should I help you again?"

Angry, Tony moved towards the magician, but Clint was faster. He jumped up and stopped the millionaire from hurting the only person that could help them. But to Clint's surprise Tony didn't fight against the grip. Instead, he pointed at the sleeping redhead on the ground.

"You will help us, Mr. I-have-magic, because if we untie her, she will kill you. If you read about me, I'm certain that you read about the Black Widow as well; about her past and that she was a trained assassin. Do you really want to fight against her?"

Strange's gaze flickered to the dangerous woman and back to the furious millionaire. Apparently, he didn't want to find out how it was to fight against the Black Widow. The magician cleared his throat, then he stood up.

"Well, if you put it that way, I think I will help you. No need to put the old Black Widow out in the world again."

"You mean, you don't want to be responsible for it," Tony corrected him, which earned him an evil eye.

In silence, the men watched how Stephen Strange moved his hands to activate his magic. Glowing symbols appeared in the air, connected each other to other symbols until Strange shrank it to the size of his hand and pressed it on Natasha's chest. Immediately, Natasha opened her eyes and gasped for air. Her chest was glowing, while Strange had his eyes closed. He was concentrating on the magic. Clint released Tony and was by the side of his best friend in an instant. Although she was tied up, this was no guarantee that she wasn't able to fight the magician. So, Clint grabbed her hands and pressed them down.

"It's okay, Nat. He will help you."

She wasn't answering. From the look of her face, it was obviously that she was in pain. Clint thought about stopping the magician, but if this was the only way to help his friend, then he couldn't do it. He only hoped that it would be over soon. Just when he finished this thought, the glowing stopped, Natasha relaxed and was breathing regular again. Strange let out a heavy sigh, then he stood up and moved to Tony. Meanwhile, Clint was concentrated on his best friend. He pushed a strand of red hair out of her face.

"Nat? Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Natasha's voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"How do you feel?"

"Better."

"Do you know what happened?"

This time, Natasha closed her eyes and nodded. A single tear was running down her cheek when she remembered her fight with Clint.

"Clint, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Shsh. I know."

"No, she was saying terrible things and…"

"And I know that it's not true. She just wanted to hurt my feelings. I would lie if I would say that it didn't work at all, but I know that you don't feel that way. But I have to apologize for using your gear again."

"It was necessary. She would have killed you, if you wouldn't have done it."

"Doesn't mean that I liked it."

"I would be shocked if you would have like it."

Natasha smiled at him and he couldn't resist to gave her one as well. In the background, they heard how Tony gasped for air. Clint didn't have to look to know what happened. Natasha threw a short glance at the millionaire.

"What is he doing?"

"He helps you guys to reduce the side effects."

"Reduce? He can't erase them?"

"Apparently not. But with our help you guys can defeat the urge to… change."

"This doesn't sound good."

"It's the best we can do, so we have to live with it."

"Are those the consequences because he brought us back?"

Clint bit his lower lip. He didn't want to admit that the same thought occurred to him as well. What if those were the consequences for cheating death? Was this possible? Or was he making up something? Natasha didn't need an answer from him. She saw doubt in his eyes, and that was everything she needed. Their second chance had come with a price.


	17. Chapter 17

**I wanted some flashbacks for my last two chapters, since I'm still curious how Natasha and Clint met each other, and how their friendship started. I wish they would make a movie (or at least a tv show) about those two, since they have so much history together.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and stay with me for the final round :)**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

_It was cold outside. Snowflakes were falling from the sky, turning the streets in a winter wonderland. She wore a thick coat to keep herself warm, but her face was hurting from the cold wind; not that she was complaining. The winters in Russia were always cold, and she was used to it. The redhead moved through the crowd. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, although she couldn't find the person. Was she paranoid? Or was someone following her? Her eyes searched the crowd for people acting suspicious, but not even on the roofs there was someone. So it had to be someone behind her. She stopped at a stall with beautiful mirrors and looking glasses._

"_Are you interested in a beautiful looking glass?" the customer asked in Russian._

"_They look good."_

"_Every pretty woman needs a pretty mirror to admire her beauty."_

_She gently touched the looking glasses with her fingers, which were covered by gloves. While, the customer was showing her the best ones, the redhead was watching the people in the reflection. Still, there was no one outstanding; no one watching her or coming near her. Why wasn't the feeling fading?_

_`Where are you hiding?´_

_She wanted to move on when her gaze fell on a roof of a building behind her. A shadow head appeared from time to time as if he wanted to check on her._

_`Got'cha´, Natasha thought smiling. He would regret it that he was following her._

* * *

Sweating, Natasha awoke from her nightmare. She hated it to be reminded on her past. Clint had said that the magician had reduced the side effects. She called it turning-her-bad-ego-into-nightmares. At least, she was no danger to Clint's children anymore. She would never forgive herself, if she would hurt them.

"Are you awake?"

Clint stood in the doorframe and was watching her.

"How long are you standing there?"

"A while."

"I'm not one of your children," Natasha said in a grim tone and regretted it immediately. She didn't want to be mean. Luckily, Clint wasn't angry.

"Good morning to you too, Grumpy."

"Sorry, it's… it was a rough night."

"Do you want a training session?"

"Not today."

"Are you sure? It could help you to…"

"Not today, Clint."

This time, she was louder and he noticed the change immediately. Sighing, Natasha rubbed her eyes. She needed fresh air.

"Is it one of the worse days?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you know where to find me if you wanna talk."

The former SHIELD agent heard how her best friend was leaving her alone. His steps went down the stairs until she couldn't hear him anymore. She felt bad for snapping at him, but the nightmares made her feel exhausted and angry. What would happen if Strange's spell wouldn't work anymore? What if she returned to her old self and attacked Clint and his family? The nightmares reminded her all the time off what she had been. She had been a villain, a cold-blooded killer. And she was really close to getting back on that trail.

* * *

_The Black Widow kept moving through the crowd. Now that she knew where her shadow was, it was easy to keep an eye on him. He was moving from roof to roof, hiding quickly, but it was useless. He couldn't disappear anymore. The assassin smiled before she turned around a corner. She would show this guy what happened to people, who were following her. She left her coat on a dumpster and revealed her black suit. The cold was challenging, but she had grown up in Russia. In the Red Room, they had trained her to walk in the cold for hours. This was nothing. Quickly, she climbed up the wall and pulled herself on the roof. The shadow was coming closer, slowly. Obviously, he was freezing – probably no one from Russia – and he wasn't used to climb on roofs. She hid behind a pillar, while she was listening._

_`He is a newbie. Although, he tried to stay hidden, he walks over the roofs like an elephant. It won't take long to take him out.´_

_The man arrived at her position, and the redhead heard him breathing. It sounded as if he wasn't used to walk that much. Who was that guy? He took a careful look over the edge. Obviously, he was searching for her._

_`Don't worry, boy. I'm right here.´_

_She left her hiding spot, grabbed the jacket of the guy and made him flip. A loud scream escaped his lips when he made contact with the roof. He rolled until he was able to stand up. In amusement, the Black Widow watched how her opponent pulled out a gun with shaking hands. This guy would kill himself if he wasn't careful. Quickly, she attacked him and took the gun out of his hands. This was a waste of her time!_

"_Who are you?" she asked in Russian._

_The man tried to move backwards, so she grabbed him again and pushed him down. He protested in pain, and she recognized the English language. He was an American! Then she noticed the symbol on each arm of the jacket. It was an eagle._

"_Who are you?" This time, she talked in English._

"_No one."_

"_No one, hm? Why are you following me?"_

"_I don't follow you."_

"_Is it normal to walk on roofs instead of streets where you come from?"_

_The whining man pressed his lips together. He had no answer to this. The Black Widow smiled. This was too easy._

"_You know, if you want to stay unnoticed, so that people think of you as a tourist, you shouldn't wear the jackets with the SHIELD logo on it."_

_Her smile grew when his eyes seemed to pop out in shock. Stupid newbie._

"_What? Do you think we don't know your organization in Russia? Big mistake. Maybe the next time your boss sends someone, who is better than you."_

_She took his gun and pointed it at his head. Suddenly, something hit the weapon and pulled it out of her grasp until it stuck in the roof. It was an arrow! Immediately, the redhead stood up and turned to her new threat. A young man stood on the roof, armed with a bow and arrows and he was also wearing a jacket from SHIELD._

"_Nice shot."_

"_Yeah, well, I never miss."_

"_Never?"_

"_Not once."_

"_Is this your partner?"_

_She put her foot on the chest of the other guy to keep him on the ground. He wasn't even trying to fight her._

"_I'm afraid so. He is new and has to learn a lot, and they thought it would be a good idea to take him outside."_

"_Do you want to tell me that SHIELD has no more good agents except for you and this is why you get such weak partners?"_

"_We have many good people. But we also lose some, so we have to train youngsters."_

"_And your mission for today is…?"_

"_Classified."_

"_Of course, it is. But don't worry, I already know why you are here."_

"_Do you?"_

"_Yes."_

_Without a warning, she attacked the archer, but he wasn't surprised by it. Other than the whining guy, this one knew how to fight. The Black Widow was surprised that she couldn't land a hit on him. He was always blocking her. Finally, she took a few steps back, while they both were breathing heavily._

"_You definitely need a new partner," the redhead said. "He is nothing compared to you."_

"_Is this an offer?"_

_An honest smile appeared on her lips, and she was surprised. She couldn't remember when it had been the last time she had smiled and meant it. Who was that guy? Why was he able to make her feel something?_

"_You have no idea who I am."_

"_Natalia Alianovna Romanova, also known as the Black Widow, well-trained killer."_

"_You just confirmed that I AM your mission."_

"_No, I only proved that I know who you are."_

"_You wouldn't know all those things, if SHIELD wouldn't be after me."_

"_Let's say that we like to keep an eye on people, who could become dangerous."_

_The bell of a nearby church rang and reminded the redhead that she was running late. She had no time to fight these guys. She took another step back and relaxed._

"_Alright, pretty boy. Looks like you guys are lucky today. Bring this newbie back to your plane and fly home."_

"_Are you giving me orders now?"_

"_Think of it as an advice. Oh, and tell your boss to leave me alone. If you don't mess with me, then I don't mess with you, and guys like this one here stay alive."_

"_He won't like that."_

"_I'm sure that you can convince him."_

_The Black Widow gave the archer a last smile before she jumped off the roof. He wanted to stop her, but when he reached the edge she was already on the ground again, putting her coat on and disappeared in the crowd._

* * *

Natasha stood on the porch with crossed arms and was watching how Clint taught his daughter how to shot an arrow. The girl was the only one from the children, who was getting more and more like her father. Cooper was more interested in computer games and Nate was too little to know anything about fighting. Since her outburst in the morning, Natasha hadn't talked to Clint the whole morning. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for snapping at him, but she couldn't get it over her lips. When she had no nightmares, then her mind sent her back in time during the day with glimpses of a memory. The redhead wanted to hide in her room, curling up to a ball until the horrible day was over.

"Why don't you join them?"

Laura appeared behind her and laid her hand on Natasha's shoulder. The redhead's first instinct was to shrug off the hand, but she knew that this would hurt Laura's feelings, so she stayed where she was.

"Not today."

"Because it is a bad day? You can't always hide when the memories are getting stronger."

"Yes, I can."

"Nat…"

"Laura, please. I can't do it."

"You don't know that when you haven't tried it. Give us a chance. You know that we want to help you."

"No one can help me," the former SHIELD agent whispered.

Of course, Laura had heard it as well. Determined, she grabbed Natasha's hand, opened her crossed arms and gave her a hug. Natasha stumbled back in surprise before she realized what the woman in front of her was doing.

"Laura, if you keep squeezing me like that I will end up with broken bones."

She was impressed how strong this woman was. On the other hand, she had three kids, whose father was sometimes acting like a child himself. She needed to be strong. Laura, who knew exactly how much the redhead could take didn't release her friend out of the hug.

"You need to learn that you can trust us. You know us for so many years now, Nat. Stop playing the lone wolf."

Natasha didn't answer. She knew that she could trust the Barton's and her friends, but now that she was having these flashbacks and even had turned to her former self, she was backing off. Why couldn't Laura understand that she was trying to protect them?

"I know that I didn't ask a question, but I would like to hear an approval from you," Laura said, still holding Natasha in her hug. When she realized that she wouldn't get a word out of the stubborn woman, she sighed and released her. "Sometimes I wonder how Clint is able to work with you when you are like this. He isn't the calm type. What do you guys do? Fight against each other?"

"It took him a while until he stopped fighting against me," Natasha said smiling. "It took years, actually."

"I'm not surprised. Now go and join Clint and Lila. They will be happy to see you."

Determined, Clint's wife pushed Natasha off the porch. She wouldn't allow her to keep her distance. Unwillingly, the redhead obeyed and walked to the two Barton's, who were still shooting arrows. It was a competition about who was the better shooter. Arrow after arrow flew through the air and hit the bullseyes, and Natasha couldn't take her eyes of them.

* * *

_She was drinking her coffee, while she observed her target over the edge of her cup. He was sitting on a different table with his little family in his perfect suit, kissing his wife and playing with his daughter. They looked like a typical happy family, but he was a bad guy since he was making his money by selling weapons. The wife didn't know about it – it would probably break her little heart. Well, it would break anyway since it was Natasha's mission to kill the man. His phone rang, he answered and then he said goodbye to his family. The redhead paid her coffee, then she followed her target through the crowd. He was easy to spot and he never turned around to check if anyone followed him._

_`Such a fool.´_

_He entered a dark alley, so she waited until he turned on the next corner and was out of side. The alley was empty. Only the bad guys liked to use this kind of streets. Before she reached the corner, she heard a high sound, and in the next second, an arrow passed her and stuck in the wall beside her. She recognized it immediately. The handsome agent of SHIELD was standing on the roof, aiming at her with his arrows. Natasha gritted her teeth in anger. Now was the worst time at all to deal with him. Suddenly, he shook his head as if he wanted to tell her not to move onward. Was he protecting the guy? No, this was impossible. SHIELD would never protect a weapons dealer. But what was this guy trying to tell her? She made a step forward and again he shook his head. Then she took one back and she earned a nod._

_`Alright, arrow guy. You want me to leave this place. The only question is: why?´_

_She thought about her options and decided that her mission was more important than the SHIELD agent. The Red Room would punish her if she wouldn't finish it. She ran and hoped that the guy on the roof would be too surprised to shoot her in the back. It actually worked. She reached the corner and was rewarded with a punch to her face. Groaning, she rolled on the ground until she was back on her feet to face the new threat. The man belonged to her target and was grinning wildly. He had waited for her! She felt someone approaching her from behind, so she went into action. Sadly, these guys didn't play fair. The guy behind her shot her in the stomach without hesitation and before she was able to punch him. Another shot hit her left thigh and sent her to her knees in pain. Three other men appeared, and suddenly, the Black Widow was surrounded. Quickly, they attacked her before she had the chance. She took in punches, kicks and hits with a stick or something like that. Her whole body was on fire, while her blood was spilling on the ground. She had allowed herself to get distracted by the archer, and this was her reward. The last kick to her head sent darkness over her._

* * *

"Auntie Nat, do you want to train with us?"

Natasha awoke from her memory. Lila was looking at her quizzically. Apparently, the redhead had come closer, but didn't notice it. Clint noticed the lost look of his best friend.

"Hey sweetie, I could use a break. Why don't you look if mom has some cookies in the kitchen?"

Lila wanted to protest, but when she saw the iron look in her father's eyes, she decided differently. Although, they didn't know what was going on between the adults, the oldest two kids knew that something was wrong and that it had something to do with the strange behavior of their aunt. So, she nodded and left the two friends alone.

Clint waited until his daughter was out of side before he moved to Natasha, who had her eyes closed. Carefully he came closer until he was able to lean his temple against hers. Her fingers found his free hand and intertwined with his'.

"Nat, talk to me," the archer whispered.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Everything. Tell me about your nightmare."

He felt how she wanted to step away from him, so he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Natasha didn't like it to be restricted in her movements, so she tried to push him away, but there was no strength behind her tries.

"You will feel better if you talk about it."

"How do you know?"

"Because it's never a good thing to keep everything to yourself."

The redhead stopped pushing, but she wasn't talking either. How should she start? What could she tell him?

"What happened during the night? What did you dream of?"

"Me… my old me."

"What did she do?"

"She?"

"You're not that person anymore, Nat. Let's see this from a different position. What did Natalia do?"

Natasha thought about his words. Would it be easier to talk about it when she was thinking of her old self as a stranger? Could she do it?

"I… she was in Russia, and it was winter."

"Okay, what else?"

"She was… walking when she noticed someone watching her."

"Did she find him?"

"Yes, he was a newbie from SHIELD, who didn't know how to observe someone and stay hidden."

"Was he alone?"

"No."

"Who was with him?"

"His partner. He shoots with arrows and isn't a bad fighter."

"I think you forgot that he was handsome."

"How do YOU wanna know? It was my nightmare," Natasha said, but a small smile appeared on her lips. "This guy thought he could keep her from killing the newbie."

"Did it work?"

"Yes… she left without killing anyone of them."

"Sounds like a success."

"It does. And for a while, she never heard of the archer and his partner. She hadn't even thought about them. But then she went on a mission months later and the arrow guy appeared again. He interfered with her mission, which was the reason why she walked into a trap and got caught."

"Interfered? I remember that very differently."

"Well, at this point these had been my thoughts about you. I didn't know you, and you had just appeared right before I got beaten up."

"I told you not to go."

"You didn't say anything at all. You just shook your head for no and nodded for yes."

"Yeah, easy communication. Even a child understands it."

"Are you calling me a child?"

"I wouldn't dare to," Clint laughed and when he saw a real smile on her face again, he pulled her to a wooden bench. "Do you remember what happened after your capture?"

"Of course, I… I was…"

Natasha felt the next wave coming, but this time it hurt. Her head felt like it would explode any minute.

"Nat? What's wrong? Talk to me!" Clint sounded scared. Natasha didn't remember when she had ever seen him scared. Angry, yes. Annoyed, yes. But fear wasn't something how she would describe her best friend. "Nat!"

* * *

_Darkness. She couldn't see anything at all. Someone had pulled a bag over her head. Her hands and feet were tied up, and someone was carrying her over his shoulder. Her whole body was in pain from the earlier attack. She tasted blood in her mouth and from the strange feeling of her face, it had to be swollen. Those guys knew how to beat someone up. A door was opened, then she was standing on her own two feet again. One person took her right arm and another one took her left arm. They had to be strong, because they carried her forward, so she wouldn't fall with her tied up feet. Finally, they stopped again, and someone pulled of the old smelling bag from her head. Where ever she was, it wasn't a bright place. The only lights came from old lightbulbs, which were only hanging on cables from the ceiling._

"_Look what we have here. An itsy-bitsy spider landed in our net."_

_The weapons dealer – her target – was standing in front of her with a big fat smile on his face. Obviously, he was enjoying this more than she did._

"_You thought you are clever, didn't you?" he asked in Russian. "You thought I wouldn't notice how you follow me everywhere I go. Well, you are not as good as everyone is saying."_

"_I'm afraid you mistake me for someone else, Sir. I don't know…"_

_She was rewarded with a hard slap to the face. Pain was spreading, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction to let him see how much she was hurt. After all, she was the famous Black Widow!_

"_You only speak when you are asked!"_

_Since she wasn't eager to get another slap, she decided to give in to his demand. She would stay silent, until she would find a way to finish her task and escape these idiots._

"_Your first mistake was too come for me. I have every weapon I can dream of. You can't imagine what I can do to you, but I promise you that you will find it out very quickly. You will give me everything I ask you, and then I will kill you."_

_Her target moved his head, which was the sign for her guards to move her again. They brought her to the middle of the room. A heavy iron ball – like the ones bad prisoners had to wear – was lying on the ground, connected to a chain. They put the end of it around her ankles, so she couldn't pull her feet apart. The rope around her wrists got wrapped around a hook, which was hanging from the ceiling. Suddenly, someone pulled the hook up, and the redhead had to follow unwillingly, until the chain of the iron ball was stretched, as well as the woman. It looked as if the pain she was feeling right now would be nothing against the one she would be in after this guy was done with her._

* * *

**Author note: Another chapter is over. Please leave me a review or some of your thoughts, if you like. You guys have one more chapter to go, so I see you next week. Have a great week :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**We reached the end of this fanfiction. I want to take the chance to thank everyone, who stayed with me until the end, wrote some reviews, added my story to their favorite list and followed the story. I really appreciate it that you guys liked my version.**

**And now for the last time: enjoy the chapter :D**

**I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.**

* * *

"She wakes up."

Exhausted, Natasha blinked a few times until she was able to recognize Clint, who was sitting beside her. He pressed a cold towel on her temple, which felt good. Natasha felt like she was burning up.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. How are you doing?"

"Stop the jokes, Clint. Can't you see that she is feeling terrible?"

"I'm sorry, honey."

Natasha wanted to tell them to stop worrying about her, but there were no words coming out of her mouth. Her voice sounded like a crow, so she quickly shut up again.

"I'll bring you a glass of water," Laura said.

Slowly, Natasha took in the rest of the room. She was lying on the couch in the living room. Clint must have carried her inside after she had blacked out again. Laura returned with the water, and suddenly, the redhead noticed how thirsty she was. She emptied the glass faster than usual, while Clint reminded her to take it slowly.

"Easy, Nat. There is no need to rush."

"What happened?" Her voice didn't sound like her, but at least it was back. "What did I miss?"

"You lost consciousness, and I had to carry you inside. When you started to move from one side to the other, I knew that you had another one of these nightmares."

"It was never like this before."

"What did you see?"

"Do you remember the trap I was talking about before this happened?"

"Of course."

"Well, this was the sequel, where I was tied up and talked to the weapons dealer."

"Trap? Tied up? Weapons dealer?" Laura looked confused. "What the hell are you dreaming about?"

Natasha looked at Clint, who understood what she wanted him to do. The Black Widow wasn't good with explanations and she didn't know what the archer had told his wife about her terrible past.

"Honey, I told you that Nat had a rough past, right?"

"You did."

"And that she had to… do… things that weren't right."

Natasha let out a quiet laugh, but her best friend ignored her. It wasn't easy to explain the situation and Laura looked already annoyed.

"Clint, I'm not a child. We talked about Nat's past when she published her files after SHIELD'S fall-down. There is no need to play soft."

"Alright, well the nightmares are memories from her time when she was still working for the Russian and killing people. This trap she is talking about, was many years ago when I was in Russia as well to kill her."

"But you decided differently."

"I did, and Fury wasn't happy about it, at first. I nearly lost my head because of this decision."

Natasha raised her eyebrows in surprise. It had been no secret that no one at SHIELD had liked Clint's decision to recruit a dangerous killer, but he had never told her that Fury had almost fired him.

"You never told me that you almost got fired," Natasha said.

"Fury was angry, but he knew that he needed me. He would have never fired me," Clint answered and shrugged with his shoulders. "Not a big deal."

Natasha took a pillow and hit her best friend with it. Shocked, Clint covered his head from her attacks.

"You're an idiot!"

"Thank you, Nat," Laura agreed with the redhead, while Clint was shocked by her words.

"Thank you?! You thank her for hitting me with a pillow and calling me an idiot?!"

"Yes, this way, I don't have to do it."

"I regret the day, you two met each other."

"You are such a poor boy." Laura shook her head, then she left the two friends alone.

"Don't you want to hear the rest of my explanation?"

"I think I pass. I already know enough. Nat got trapped, and this weapons dealer tortured her. Did I miss anything?"

She didn't wait for an answer, and Clint and Natasha didn't give one. They didn't want Laura to be angry with them. Finally, Clint turned to his best friend again.

"Could you please put the pillow aside?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Are there more things I need to know about, which you didn't tell me?"

"How about I tell you what happened this day you are dreaming about, but this time you will see it from my perspective?"

Natasha thought about it, then she nodded and put the pillow behind her head. She had never heard how this day had been for Clint and was eager to hear about it.

"Well, I had the order to kill you for days. The high bosses of SHIELD had decided that it was too dangerous to let you walk, so I was supposed to put an arrow in your head. But since we met on this roof top – where you almost killed my stupid partner – I had a strange feeling to execute the order. So I stall. Every day I was following you, but I never made the shot. Fury and Coulson were angry, and I knew that I had to make a decision or they would send someone else. On this day when you followed this weapons dealer, I'd known about the trap. It helps to sit on roof tops. This way, you are able to listen to conversations you're not supposed to hear."

"And when you saw me in that alley…"

"I had to stop you…"

* * *

_Clint cursed when he saw that the Black Widow was following her target. She couldn't know about the trap, the guy had set up for her. What should he do? Fury and Coulson expected of him to kill the woman, but he couldn't do it. But he also couldn't go down there to warn her. He was a spy, and the bad guys weren't supposed to see him. Cursing, he pulled out an arrow and pointed it at the head of the Black Widow. It would be over soon. One shot, and it would be over. His job would be done, she wouldn't walk into a trap, and he could fly home to his family. Then why was he hesitating?_

_`You definitely need a new partner. He is nothing compared to you.´_

_Her words from months ago were stuck in his head. He had searched for the perfect partner for years, but no one was ever a match to him. He had trained newbies, and every one of them had disappointed him. And then this woman – Natalia Romanova – appeared in front of him, and suddenly, he felt like he had found his match. Her fighting skills were able to compete with his own. She was clever and funny… but she was his enemy._

_She was getting closer to the corner, and the arrow left his bow. It passed her and then stuck in the wall. Immediately, Clint had her attention. Her green eyes found him, and he saw the surprise in them. She hadn't expected him to be there. Did she know that he had been sent to kill her? It didn't matter. He needed to give her a sign that this was a trap. Yelling wasn't an option, just like going down to her. What else could he do?_

_`Well, try it with shaking your head. Everyone knows what this means.´_

_Sadly, she looked even more confused. This wasn't working. She took another step forward and he shook his head again. Then she took a step back and Clint realized that she had understood him, so he nodded. Now, she just had to turn around, and he had to find a new excuse for Coulson, why she was still breathing. The archer relaxed just when the stubborn redhead ran forward._

_`Why?!´ Clint thought angry. `I'm trying to help you, stupid woman!´_

_Since she was concentrated on getting away from him without an arrow in her back, she didn't notice the trap. Helpless, Clint had to watch how the men encircled her and beaten her up. He wanted to shoot them, but he couldn't risk it to be seen. When the Black Widow was unconscious, they tied her up, put a bag over her head and carried her inside the building. Clint activated his earwig and spoke through gritted teeth._

"_This is Hawkeye. Beta, are you there?"_

_It took a few seconds until Coulson's voice answered. "Beta here. How is your status?"_

"_My target ran into a trap. She got captured."_

"_Enemies or friends?"_

"_Enemies to both of us."_

"_Will she make it out of there alive?"_

"_I don't know. It's possible that she won't."_

_Coulson turned silent, while he thought about Clint's words. This wasn't how they had planned the mission._

"_Return to the base."_

"_Repeat that?!"_

"_The mission is over, Hawkeye. Return to the base."_

"_Beta…"_

"_I don't know what it is about this woman that you start to ignore orders, but you will obey to this one! Forget her and come back! Do you copy?"_

_Clint gritted his teeth harder. His whole body was fighting against the order. He couldn't leave her to die when he was able to help her!_

"_Hawkeye, do you…?!"_

_Clint crashed his earwig before Coulson could finish the question. Screw SHIELD, screw Fury and Coulson, and screw the stupid orders. He would save this woman, no matter what._

* * *

_When the night has fallen over Russia, Clint made his move. He wore his black clothes, but this time he had no SHIELD symbols on him. In case someone saw him, he didn't want to alarm anyone by showing that he was playing for the good guys. His bow was hanging over his shoulder, ready to be used if Clint would have resistance on his way. The archer used every shadow he could find to hide, but he noticed that it was unnecessary to be so careful. The bad guys didn't expect a rescue mission. After all, the famous Black Widow was known to work alone. Who would come to rescue that woman?_

_`Well, apparently, I'm this guy. Let's hope that Fury isn't going to kill me when I'm back.´_

_Clint moved inside, but there was no one there. The corridors were empty, and there was no sound. Where was the weapons dealer, and where was the redhead? He couldn't imagine that she was already dead. The woman was too stubborn to die that quick. But at least, he didn't hear any screams. This was a good sign… right?_

_The SHIELD agent reached stairs, which went either up or down. Since he couldn't believe that they would keep her in the upper floors, Clint decided to go down. It was silent, then suddenly a door opened, and one of the bad guys was standing in front of Clint. The archer's fingers were itching, but he couldn't shoot an arrow from this distance. The other guy was too close. The man said something in Russian, and Clint could only imagine that he was asking who he was – his Russian was pretty bad._

_`Act quick, Barton, or he will alarm his friends.´_

_One punch to the throat and his opponent was gasping for air. Another one to the head and he was out. Clint pulled him back to the room, which he had just exited and left him there. Now he was running out of time. This guy wasn't sleeping forever, and he hadn't even found the Black Widow by now! Clint decided that he had to stop to sneak around in the building. He had to be faster now, if he wanted to get out of there alive._

_The next ten minutes felt like hours, but finally, he found the room he was looking for. It was a big one with only one lamp in it, so he almost didn't see the poor woman, who was hanging from the ceiling. After a quick check for unwanted guests, he closed the door behind him and moved to her. Anger raged through his veins when he saw what they had done to her. Additionally, to the two gunshot wounds she had received outside, they had cut her several times. A puddle of blood had formed on the ground. He couldn't see her face since her hair was hanging wet in her face._

"_Widow," the archer whispered. No reaction. "Natalia!"_

_He pushed her hair out of her face, and suddenly, her eyes flickered open. The light was gone, as well as her power._

"_You." Her voice was only a whisper. Clint assumed that it had been a while since she drank something._

"_Hold on."_

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_What does it look like? I'm saving you."_

"_He will kill you."_

"_We will be gone by then."_

"_You're crazy, arrow man."_

_Clint smiled at her words. Although she was hanging from the ceiling and had lost a lot of blood, this woman still hasn't lost her sharp tongue._

"_It's Clint, Clint Barton."_

"_Well, Clint Barton, are you planning to get us out of here or do you wanna chat?"_

"_I'm searching for the key," Clint said and moved to the table._

"_He took it with him. You have to find another way to open this thing around my legs."_

"_Any ideas?"_

"_Do you have a hairpin?"_

"_Wait a second." Clint moved with his hands through his short hair, then he showed her his empty hands. "Sorry, no hairpin."_

"_Hilarious."_

_Clint took a knife from the table. He saw her flinch when he returned, but he kneeled slowly to show her that he wouldn't hurt her. It took him a while to open the lock and to cut the ropes before he was able to stand up again. At the same time, a scream echoed through the corridors. They must have found the unconscious man or he was awake now._

"_Listen, I will put my arms around you to get you off this hook."_

"_Just get it over with. They don't wait until you found a solution."_

"_I just didn't want you to freak out if I do it without saying anything," Clint explained, while he carefully put his arms around her bleeding body. "I'm not interested in getting kicked."_

_The redhead hissed in pain when he lifted her to free her hands from the hook. At the same moment when she fell over his shoulder, the door busted open and the weapons dealer appeared with a gun in his hand._

"_Shit!"_

_Clint had seen a second door on the other side of the room, so this was his new exit point. He couldn't fight the bad guys, while a bleeding woman was lying over his shoulder. Sadly, the weapons dealer fired his gun at them, while he was following them. Clint felt how the Black Widow did something with his belt, but he couldn't ask her what it was. Then he heard different gunshots shooting at the bad guys and immediately, he knew what she had done. The woman had his gun! Clint cursed himself for not being more careful. It was dangerous to give the Black Widow a weapon! At least, she was keeping their followers from coming closer. He entered an empty room on one of the upper floors, put her down on her feet and quickly, bared the door. In the next second, he heard how the men tried to get in, but his barricade held. Breathlessly he turned to the Black Widow, only to look into his gun, which was pointed at his head. She was sitting on the ground because her feet didn't carry her anymore._

"_Easy, Natalia. I'm here to help you, remember?"_

"_Why?"_

"_Why did I do it?"_

"_Yes. I don't have friends, and I know that SHIELD wants to kill me. So why are you here, Clint Barton? If you think that I will believe you that you never had the order to kill me, then…"_

"_The order still stands. Actually, my bosses told me to come back to base, and let you die in here."_

"_You disobeyed them? Why?" The redhead was confused. She didn't know this guy, but he was willing to risk his life for her. "These guys will kill you when they get the chance. Your bosses won't be happy about your actions. Why do you risk everything for a woman you don't even know except that she is a cold-blooded killer?!"_

_Clint moved closer to the hurt woman, and the gun in her hands was shaking._

"_Stop! Don't move!"_

_But Clint wasn't good at listening. Besides, he had this strange feeling in his gut, which told him that she wouldn't shoot him. She was confused, but she wouldn't shoot. He kneeled in front of her, then he took the gun out of her hands, gently._

"_Why aren't you afraid?" Her big green eyes were shocked by his actions. Everyone else would have run for his life._

"_You impress me, Natalia Romanova. You are a strong woman and one hell of a fighter. But you serve the wrong people. People, who don't care about you. I think you could do some good for this world. SHIELD could be glad if he had someone like you."_

"_SHIELD hates me."_

"_They don't know you."_

"_You don't know me either."_

"_I know enough." Gently, Clint put a strand of her hair behind her ear, then he removed the rope from her wrists. "Listen, I can't force you to come with me. It is your decision. You can go back to your old life, or you try to change it. But if you should decide to come with me to SHIELD, I will promise you that no one is going to torture or hurt you. I will be by your side, and help you through this."_

"_You are a strange man."_

"_Yeah, probably. So, I will ask you: do you want to leave the Red Room?"_

"_Yes." It was only a whisper, and Clint saw that she was shocked by her own answer._

"_Good. Do you want to come with me?"_

_This time, she hesitated. It was one thing to have the wish to change your life, but it was a hard step to actually do it. Clint didn't push her. He knew that this would be the wrong way. Instead, he just stared in her eyes and hoped that she would see the truth in them._

"_What if they don't want me? What if they want to kill me after all?"_

"_Then I will get you out of there."_

"_You would fight against your bosses? Your colleagues?"_

"_If I give someone a promise, I keep it. I won't allow them to hurt you. Even if it means that I have to go rogue. But I know my bosses. They bark, but they don't bite. They will be angry with me – I won't lie to you – but if you truly mean it to change your life, they will take you in."_

_Something big was crashing against the door. They were running out of time. Clint stood up and put his gun back in its holster. Then he reached his hand out to the redhead._

"_Your decision. Are you coming with me?"_

_She watched his hand when the second crash was heard. Then she laid her hand in his' and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Clint smiled at her._

"_Let's get out of here."_

_A third crash rattled the door and almost pushed it out of the frame. The barricade wouldn't survive a fourth crash. Quickly, Clint was searching for a way out of the room, but it looked like the door was the only entrance and exit. They were surrounded by concrete walls and big windows. Both the archer and the Black Widow realized at the same time that the windows were their only chance. Clint threw a last desperate look at the door, then he ran to the other side, pulling the woman with him. When the bad guys broke the door with the fourth crash, they jumped and the sound of shattered glass was surrounding them. The glass cut in Clint's skin, but no sound came over his lips. Beneath them laid the river and the two fugitives dived in. The water was ice cold, although they had already spring outside. Clint was clutching the hand of the redhead, who seemed not to care about the cold._

_`Well, she is Russian. She is used to the cold.´_

_The river carried them away from the building and out of the town. When they reached green meadows, Clint tried to swim to the riverside. Natalia was also trying, but it was obvious that she was losing her strength. Being shot and tortured took its toll on her. Breathlessly, Clint pulled them out of the water and then just lied down on the grass. This wasn't how he had thought this mission would go._

"_What do we do now?"_

_The redhead was lying beside him, also breathing heavily. She looked better, now that the water had washed off the blood, but her wounds were still open. It wouldn't take long until her body was covered in blood again._

"_We find my motorcycle, drive to a private airport, where my jet waits, and then they bring us back to SHIELD."_

"_And where is your motorcycle?"_

"_Depends on where we are right now. As soon as I'm back in the city, I can find it."_

"_Then let's move. They will be after us in no time."_

"_Easy, redhead. I'm freezing."_

"_This is Russia. What did you expect? Warm beaches? Don't be such a baby."_

"_You're a pain in the ass. Do you know that?"_

"_You offered to take me to your boss. Now you have to live with it."_

* * *

"… and then we flew back to SHIELD and I had to deal with Fury. It was a hard fight, but obviously I won it."

"I was surprised that no one actually wanted to arrest me."

"Everyone was afraid of the famous Black Widow. They knew they were no competition against you."

"I was in pain. I had two gunshot wounds and multiple cuts on my body."

"And you want to tell me that you couldn't fight when you are in pain?"

Natasha opened her mouth, then she thought about his words and finally gave up. She would never be in too much pain to fight off enemies.

"Smartass," she said, but was smiling at her partner.

"I'm trying my best." Clint copied her smile, but then he turned serious again. "What do you think? Will my part of the story help you with your nightmares?"

"I don't know, Clint. We will see tomorrow, if it works or if it starts with the next story."

Clint sat down on the couch beside her and put his arm around her, so she was able to lean her head on his chest.

"Then we will fight the next story as well. And the one afterwards, and the one after, and…"

"I get it, Barton. You will be there and help me."

"I just wanted to make sure you understand, Romanoff. You are a smart woman, but sometimes you need a kick in your ass. You're not fighting alone anymore. You have friends and a family, and we care about you. Allow us to help you."

The two friends turned silent, while they were enjoying the comfort of having each other. Since this day they had met on the roof top, their lives had been intertwined. They had fought against each other as well as they had fought as partners against their enemies and with their friends as heroes. They had their good times and their bad times, but the good ones always triumphed. Their life was and had been complicated, and both Avengers wouldn't want to change it for one second.

**Author note: Aaaaand we are done :)**

**Maybe you guys want to share some final thoughts with me (or maybe you have some suggestions/improvements for me), so leave a final review, if you like. Have a great Christmas time.**


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